My Darkest Days
by xxRebelxxYell
Summary: "You're a coward, you hide behind that ridiculous disguise. You're pathetic." His crimson eyes stared past her facade completely. "Hn, I actually respected you." Rei could not believe this man's audacity, but somewhere deep down, his words stung. HieixOC
1. One

**A/N: Kay, SOOOO, I do not own any YYH characters, just the one that I created in my head :) The titles are actually based off of My Darkest Days' new album, I really like it *ahem* so here we go. I know it may seem confusing at first, but if you guys don't know, I kind of build everything up in a story. So here we go…**

"What was so important baby breath that I had to ditch Keiko? Do you know-" Yusuke Urameshi walked into the office of Prince Koenma of the Spirit World. The office was as disorganized as usual, stacks of paper on the desk, books strew across the floor; nothing seemed to be in its place. The monitor on the side hovered over the room, screen black and empty. Yusuke's black hair was slicked back as usual, eyes ablaze in irritation, however, the moment he saw the look on the baby ruler's face, his chocolate colored eyes lost their aggravation and were replaced with a look of utmost seriousness. "Alright toddler, what the hell is going on?"

"Jesus Urameshi!" yelled a large, somewhat dumb sounding voice. "Took you long enough!" A large orange haired boy, dressed in a blue school uniform stepped out from the side. Kazuma Kuwabara stood towering over the team leader, his orange hair standing out against his small black eyes and pale skin. Kazuma's height had no intimidation factor on Yusuke; in fact, it hadn't stopped him from giving the orange haired man a piece of his mind.

"Well I had something to do, okay!" yelled back the black haired boy, a fire igniting in his brown eyes.

Koenma sat in his oversized chair staring at the two boys going head to head with one another. He knew he did not have much time and this spectacle of foolishness was making him weary with irritation. By this point, his irritation increased and a vein was slowly protruding from his head as the half-demon managed to get the orange haired boy in a chokehold.

"Now what did you say Kuwabara?" he laughed, tightening his hold even more.

"Kurama…" Koenma looked at the red-haired kitsune leaning against the wall, eyes pleading to break up the two boys. Giving a curt nod, Kurama stood up and uncrossed his arms, clearing his throat in the process, attempting to gain the other two's attention. His emerald eyes noted the look of desperation on Koenma's face. '_This cannot be good'_ He thought.

The two boys finally relaxed and straightened up facing the Prince in front of them. Yusuke turned his head and faced the red haired fox demon at his side.

"Good to see you Kurama."

"If only it were under better circumstances…"Muttered the emerald eyed demon, mind wandering anywhere but to their current, tense predicament.

Their team leader gave a small nod and shifted his gaze next to Kurama. "Hey Hiei, did you get shorter?" Snickers erupted from the previously silenced Kuwabara.

The small demon next to Kurama stepped out of the shadows, crimson eyes glowing, face stoic, and clad in black. "Don't push yourself detective," he growled while sending a menacing look at the orange haired human he claimed to despise.

"You're as chipper as the last time I saw you," muttered Yusuke only receiving a 'Hn' in response. It has been a while since Koenma called in the entire team in such urgency; the idea not only thrilled Yusuke, but scared him at the possible threat that might be occurring. The look on Koenma's face seemed foreign to the team at this point; such urgency hasn't been present since the Demon Tournament.

"Koenma…" Kurama stepped forward, face filled with curiosity and dread. His green eyes assessed the ruler sitting in front of him. What was an illusion of a baby was easily shattered when he finally spoke up.

"We have an issue," He spoke, earning a scoff from the three eyed demon in the corner. "…and I know you won't be too happy with the information I'm about to tell you…"

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

The night was silent. Clouds covered the moon and stars, casting a shadow over the already silent city. The sidewalks were still wet from the night's previous rain; puddles mirrored the only light illuminating the streets. For a city that was usually bustling, tonight it stood still and silent, like a placid lake. A calmness that should bring serenity only gave off a foreboding sense of danger.

"Do I have to do everything myself?" muttered a dark shadow as it stalked the streets; silent as the night. The cloaked figure practically glided on the sidewalks, reaching its destination, a tall complex reading the bright red words 'Mega Corp.'. Silently, the figure leaned over the corner and assessed the situation at hand. '_Maximum security'_ he thought. He leaned over a bit more and closed his menacing wolf-like eyes, a few moments a breath was released _'Approximately twenty to thirty guards.'_ A hand reached over to the hilt of his katana. _'Big man's all the way on top'_ Taking one last breath, the figure turned the corner and disappeared into the shadows.

"Hey man," grumbled a low level demon guarding the building's glass doors. _'Pitiful'_ the figured scoffed. _'Demons working for humans…what has the world come to?'_ He stayed silent, listening to the conversation at hand. "You know, I heard some rumors going around that the Silent Assassin returned."

The second one next to him, looking practically identical in appearance, small beady eyes, blue skin, and a face only a mother could love, began to shake in laughter. "Don't be an idiot; the guy's been dead for decades."

"Dead?" the other exclaimed, rubbing his neck in slight nervousness. "I dunno, I've heard otherwise…"

The second rolled his eyes. "Dead or alive; sounds like the guy just has an ego, if you ask me. We could take him. Besides, with what we're doing, he would want nothing with Yatsuki." _'This is tiresome'_ the dark figure grew bored of the two and began to silently move.

A thud was heard as a demon's body dropped to the floor, head rolling off to the side. Before even registering the situation, the second was decapitated in mere moments as a sharp silver blade connected with his throat. One swipe and down. The figure gave no look to the two slumped bodies as he disappeared into the shadows, cloak billowing behind him. The kill was unnecessary, but his point was made as he slid through the doors, his small, dark frame undetected by every form of surveillance.

"Ruki," a voice echoed through the earpiece in the shadowy figure's ear. "Was it really detrimental killing those two?" The voice was deep, dark, and reeked of authority. The small figure stopped walking and leaned in a dark corner, slightly crouching. A voice that seemed to have power over many had no effect on him.

"Do not question me Saito," He hissed in response, growing slightly irate with every moment. The building was under full surveillance, demon, human, as well as machine. If he was to stick to his no casualty code, 'Ruki' needed to be alert. "You paid me, if I recall correctly." A 'yes' was given in response on the other side of the head piece. "Then don't tell me how to do my job." With that said he took off the headpiece and dropped it on the floor, destroying it with his foot. He then continued to phase through the shadows, silent and on a hunt. Ruthless, merciless, and a constant enigma. Those were words used to describe the Silent Assassin, a name that struck fear in the Demon as well as the Spirit World. Legends spoke of the death of the Silent Assassin and the fear he evoked during his living years. _'I'm back…_'

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

A mop of shoulder length black hair stood outside the door of Spirit World's prince.

"Yes, come in." Koenma's baby voice called in from the inside. A short girl of small stature came in to the room, receiving a look of acknowledgment from the toddler at the desk. "Oh, hello Rei" he said warmly, smiling as if thoughts of dread were not plaguing his mind at all. The girl bowed her head respectfully, hair falling forward with the gesture. She recomposed herself and looked at the ruler. She was pale in the face with no trace of any color grazing her features, the girl was plain. Small nose, pouty lips, with almost no distinguishing features, aside from her eyes. Honey colored, pale eyes stood out against the black hair on her head. Bangs covered the right side of her face almost entirely; black hair hid a long vertical scar going down from the bottom of her eyebrow to the top of her cheekbones. The faded pink of the scar marred the porcelain that was her skin. Koenma never questioned the scar of the innocent and feeble looking girl in front of him, his sympathy for the creature standing awkwardly parallel to his desk made him give her the job of working for him. She did no work that an ogre couldn't do, but he could not resist.

"Umm, Koenma-sama," a low, detached, yet feminine voice squeaked from the female standing.

"Hold that thought," The toddler raised a finger and continued with the papers stacked on his desk. "Rei, could you be a doll and give Yusuke and the team a call when we are finished? Botan never informed me if she had contacted them or not…"Koenma's voiced trailed off for a moment. Rei began to grow bored; she slowly started picking at the thread protruding from her shirt. "Right, just tell them they need to be in my office," He looked at the time and calculated slowly. "In twenty minutes!" the toddler finally deduced before the stamping commenced. Rei gave a curt nod in response, not that he was even looking. The Spirit World Prince did not even raise his head, but instead continued muttering a string of profanities under his breath. The thought of a baby cursing brought Rei great amusement, but she kept her composure and realized she needed to get to the point of this meeting, quick, but the expressions of Koenma's troubled face evoked a slight curiosity, but moreover, a sense of pride.

"Everything okay, Koenma sir?" the girl asked meekly, using all her force to pretend like the issue concerned her. Yes, it was definitely pride.

Another sigh was emitted from the other side of the desk. The girl arched a hidden eyebrow and watched the ruler squirm in his seat.

"I suppose I could tell you…three years of working for me, this would not be much of a shock for you." A silence washed over the room. "Have you heard of the Silent Assassin?" For the first time Koenma made eye contact with the girl standing in front of him. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Rei looked down to the floor.

"Why of course!" She feigned surprise, which was apparently good enough for Koenma to believe. "Everybody in the Spirit and Demon World has heard of him sir," She continued meeting his gaze slightly. "But sir, hasn't he been dead for more than a decade already?"

Koenma shook his head, a mix of emotions slitting across his face. "That is what we thought as well," He made sure not to disclose all the information and continued. "But as of lately, a string of deaths arose in the human world with the same M.O as the Silent Assassin."

Rei tried to detain the smirk that was threatening to appear on her face, she quickly covered it up with disbelief. "But Koenma-sama, are you sure it is him, and not some copycat demon?"

Koenma shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, "Just a feeling Rei, a feeling I pray is dreadfully wrong…" He regained his composure in a matter of moments and looked up at the seemingly innocent girl in front of him. "In any case, I am sorry to burden you with such news, but what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Rei nodded her head _'Finally, I can get to the point'_ "Oh, I feel this isn't going to lighten your mood sir, but I needed to inform you: today is my last day…" She gave him a sad smile, or at least she hoped it looked like one.

"Last day?" he exclaimed, "This is very short notice Rei…"

The small female bowed her head in what resembled shame, "I understand sir, but something came up that I need to take care of…"

Koenma let of a breath of exasperation. "Nothing is going right this week…." He muttered. _'Do not worry little Prince,' _ she thought '_The issues will not be of concern to you after this…'_ "Nothing dreadful I hope…" He finally added, genuinely worried about the feeble girl in front of him.

"No, of course not sir."

He nodded his head, "Very well then, if you ever need a position, you will always have a place here Rei."

This time Rei felt a wave of respect flood her from the sincerity of the ruler's voice. She bowed her head quickly and stood straight. "Thank you…for everything." She turned to walk when the door opened revealing two boys and two demons. Her eyes first landed on a tall, dumb looking, orange haired human. _'Kazuma Kuwabara…'_ Then to a black haired half-demon, with chocolate eyes; his face radiated confidence as well as the rest of his body language. _'Yusuke Urameshi'_ Next to him was a short, spiky haired demon with a white starburst in the center of his hair. His crimson eyes were cold and emotionless. She stared at the bandana for a quick second, _'Hiei Jaganshi, wielder of the Jagan eye…'_ Lastly her eyes landed the emerald eyed kitsune. _'Youko…'_ Realizing she would draw attention to herself, Rei dropped her head and briskly walked out of the room. Stopping next to the door, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, listening to the conversation in the room she just exited.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU MISSED HIM!" yelled the infuriated voice of Koenma.

"Look baby breath," said the voice that Rei presumed belonged to Yusuke. "Your intel was off, the dude was dead."

There was an abrupt silence in the room before Koenma finally spoke. "We need to find him, do you four understand me?"

Rei smirked and kept walking out of the building, satisfaction radiating off of her. _'Good'_ She stepped outside and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.


	2. Two

**A/N: Don't own anything except the characters that don't sound familiar**

The four Spirit Detectives, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei walked into Koenma's office for the millionth time this week, only to be greeted by a small black haired girl shuffling past them and out the door.

As Yusuke and Koenma yelled at each other for the other's incompetence, Kurama leaned over to Hiei, "Does she seem familiar, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?" Kurama narrowed his green eyes at the now closed door, as if the female would come back and tell him her identity.

Hiei remained still and silent, as though Kurama hadn't spoken a word to him. "She is weak, no energy at all…"

"That is not what I was referring to Hiei," He paused and continued his stare down with the door. "But," he muttered facing Hiei, in complete seriousness. "the fact that she had the stench of death."

"Hey Koenma!" Kuwabara started, interrupting the feud between the Prince of Spirit World and the mazaku. "Who was that girl that just walked out?" He asked bluntly, thumb directed to the door behind him.

"Hey knuckle head, don't you have Yukina?"

"Of course! Stop being an idiot Urameshi, I would never leave my darling Yukina…" Kuwabara stared off dreamily into space, thoughts floating to the green haired, crimson eyed ice maiden.

"I will **gladly** help you…" muttered Hiei darkly.

"What was that shrimp!" Kuwabara advanced toward Hiei, and the other retaliated, going head to head.

"Come closer to me human, and it will be that step you take, I assure you." Hiei's crimson eyes sparkled deviously, a malicious smirk appearing on his face.

Yusuke and Kurama sweat dropped as the barely five foot gnome went head to head with the oversized giant. Noticing the murderous look in his eyes and hand reaching towards the hilt of his sword, Kurama stepped forward before the office erupted in total chaos.

"I think, what Kuwabara was trying to say," Kurama interjected, earning looks from all the people in the room. "There is something very…unnerving about that girl."

Koenma furrowed his eyebrows, a look of surprise and confusion written across his face. "Do you mean Rei?"

The sound of Yusuke's laughter suddenly reverberated in the room. "The chick that just left? I could barely see her." He snickered, the idea of the girl causing any harm seemed improbable to him.

"I agree with Yusuke on that one, she's an employee," Koenma paused and suddenly corrected himself. "Well, ex-employee of mine. Quiet, hard worker; just quick actually…quite a shame if you ask me."

Kurama seemed very perplexed at the statement and Koenma's trust in her. "Is she a demon?" He suddenly asked, trying to piece the unknown puzzle in his brain.

Koenma shrugged, "Supposedly, but I have very little record on her and she emits practically no energy. Girl came to me, begged for a job, and I couldn't refuse a pretty girl." This statement caused Yusuke to roll his eyes at the toddler sitting behind the desk. "She is no threat, I promise."

"Hn, I told you fox, you are getting too paranoid." Hiei sat down in the far right corner of the room and shut his eyes. "Now that we have that settled," he started. "Can we continue, you petulant child, I have better things to do with my time."

Koenma twitched and cleared his throat. "Status report on the Silent assassin Yusuke." A silence swept over the room, causing and unnatural tension around everybody. "I said…"

"We heard you diaper brains…there is none." Koenma looked up and stared in disbelief.

"What do you mean there is **none**." He said menacingly, beads of sweat beginning to form under his hat.

"Yea," Kuwabara gave off a nervous chuckle. "We seemed to have…missed him."

"YOU MISSED HIM!" the toddler yelled, face turning red with rage and fear of what his father might do to him. "Father is going to kill me," he muttered.

"Look baby breath, your intel was off by a few hours, we got there and the dude was dead and there was no trace of anybody else ever being there."

Koenma dropped his head on the table for a moment, trying to regain his thoughts as well as his composure. "You four have to find him," he finally said, looking up. "Do you understand me?"

Kuwabara looked around the room, Kurama was tense, jaw clenched and eyes deep in thought. Hiei's red eyes were open, but Kuwabara could not read a thing off of him. _Damn shrimp…_ His face held the same expressionless look it always did. Not bothering to look at Urameshi, Kuwabara furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fist. _I just don't get it!_ "What's up with this guy? Why is everybody so worried? It's not like we haven't faced trouble before!" he laughed, but earned none in response. "What is up with you people! It's just one stupid bounty hunter, how could it be? What makes this guy any different from all the others!"

"It's not just **any** bounty hunter you shit for brains." Hiei finally spoke up. "This man is one of the most feared demons in both worlds. I have wanted to taste his blood on my hands for centuries."

"Well that's comforting…" Kuwabara muttered.

"Let me handle this," Koenma got up from his chair and pointed to the monitor hanging on one of the walls. On the screen was a picture of a hooded figure. "This is the most we got of him. He is elusive, cunning, methodical, and most of all unpredictable. This demon is not just any contract killer; he is the most skilled assassin I have ever heard of. He kills his targets with one swift cut, and only his targets. He goes by the name of Ruki, but I believe that is just another alias. The most that was ever seen under the hood, is a glimpse of just another mask. His face is just like every aspect of him, unknown." With every sentence Koenma sounded more and more defeated, realizing that this may be the first enemy his team might not be able to capture.

Yusuke scratched his head in confusion. "Alright toddler brains, but I still don't get it. So he's some ugly bastard hiding behind a mask. He kills demons, why do we care?"

Koenma took a deep breath, and stared at the spirit detective. "Because the killings have proceeded into the ningenkai and that is when we cut in..."

Kuwabara scratched his head and let out a groan of frustration. "I'm with Urameshi on this one, so we'll just get rid of this jerk just like every other one, what makes him so special that you're sweating bullets?"

Kurama straightened his back. "May I Koenma?" Koenma nodded his head and allowed to kitsune to take over.

"There isn't much known about the Silent Assassin in the Demon World either, however, he is ruthless and powerful. What makes him an even deadlier foe is that nobody is sure what he specializes in. All that is known is that he is a remarkable swordsman and goes by the name of Ruki. But before becoming an assassin, he used to rule a decent amount of territory in the East of Demon World."

Yusuke narrowed his eyes and dropped on the floor, crossing his legs. "This isn't a happy kind of story is it fox boy?"

Kurama shook his head at the detective. "I'm afraid not Yusuke...This Ruki, he was an undisputed ruler not because of his justness, but because he implemented great fear into his enemies, one day, he just vanished off the face of the Demon World. There were areas that received a great deal of damage and bloodshed, but nothing ever traced back to him. No one is aware why he disappeared, what drove him out, or to even leave the title of a lord and become a bounty hunter... It is my displeasure to say that in the days when I was Youko, I had the opportunity to work alongside him...he is a man of a few words, great power, and no face."

"No face?" questioned Kuwabara, clearly confused by the last comment.

A deep growl emitted from the far right side of the room. "He means nobody has ever seen him remove his mask. Keep up dunce."

"ARE YOU STARTING WITH ME AGAIN PIP-SQUEAK!"

Yusuke cut Hiei's response off with an aggravated tone. "Just shut up, both of you. I'm getting tired of listening to all this talk and I'm itching to just clobber this guy's face in."

"What i am failing to grasp, however, is why do you assume it is him? There have been countless demons alike trying to steal the title of the Silent Assassin, yet none have succeeded. Why do you worry so now Koenma?"

The toddler prince stared at the red haired demon in front of him, "Because Kurama, before the deaths were sloppy, half eaten, and mutilated in the most disturbing manner. The man you are dealing with is swift, clean, and quick. The last kills were executed in the exact manner that the Silent Assassin used decades ago. What ticked me off is that an artifact was stolen, merely days before the killings began."

Hiei's ears perked up at the sound of artifact. "What kind of artifact, Prince?"

"Zetsumei blade..." muttered Kurama

"The sword of death...it is the sword that was crafted for Ruki himself, it was recovered in the aftermath of his territory, somehow it ended up in the Spirit World. We picked it up and locked it away. It has been untouched for ages, and if it wasn't stolen, I wouldn't have thought twice about anything, but the sword is gone, deaths are increasing in both worlds, and I am afraid to say, but he is back, with a vengeance. He is a contract killer, but there is something that just isn't adding up..." Koenma solemnly looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey pacifier breath, that doesn't answer my question! This asshole has been hiding all these years, or so you say, why come back now?" Yusuke got back up and slammed his hands on Koenma's desk in frustration.

"I don't know which is why it is imperative for you to bring him back alive."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

'_Everything is complete, now for my payment.'_ A black haired figured pulled up his hood and walked towards a desolate, stone mansion in the human world. It was hidden behind countless trees and an endless field of grass. The sun was setting, casting a reddish glow around it. He walked through the front doors, entering a large room. It reeked of money, white marble floors shone in the light cast by the crystal chandeliers. He scoffed and kept walking towards the marble and stone staircase. Silently he took steps up to the main floor where Saito would be seated. Hands in pockets, Ruki took his sweet time making it to the doors which held the man that had what he needed. Silently, he walked into a large business room. Grey walls, wooden book cases stocked with endless amounts of reading material, computers, and a large desk smack down in the middle with two chairs parallel to it. The silent assassin stepped out of the shadows and stared at the demon sitting behind the desk, typing away at his computer. Ruki stood there, unable to understand how I demon like him could so freely pretend he is a normal human, doing human things, as if he wasn't different. _'Pathetic'_ He narrowed his eyes, trying to analyze the so-called demon. The assassin cleared his throat and leaned against the wall. The demon behind the desk jumped up, clearly surprised by Ruki's silent entrance. His pale blue eyes looked up and a lazy smile crossed his face. Saito was not necessarily a physically strong demon, however, he was intelligent. Using that intelligence, Saito pursued power in investments with humans rather than the power most demons exercised with physical dominance. _'Disgusting…we are demons…'_ Ruki did not understand this man's agenda, but that did not matter to him, he would never see him again. Ruki narrowed his honey colored, almost yellow eyes and stared at the demon using the computer. He had olive colored skin and midnight black hair that shone under the lamps of the room and was pulled back into a clean ponytail.

"Ah, the Silent Assassin," Saito chuckled, shifting his gaze from the computer fully and on to the man in front of him. "You always seem to have the element of surprise." Ruki heard a certain edge to his voice, but decided to ignore it. _'He poses no threat'_

"Ruki," the figure said shoving his hand deeper into his pockets. "Address me as Ruki."

"Of course, of course. Will you sit?" Saito extended his arm in what supposed to be a friendly gesture towards the chairs in front of him. "Something to drink maybe?"

Instead of sitting Ruki stood unmoved from his current spot. "No" he answered curtly. "This is business, let's get it over with." His voice was muffled, stern, and held no emotion.

Saito's cool composure faltered for a moment as he took a deep sigh, lacing both hands together on his desk. "Well, can you at least take off your mask so I know who I am dealing with?"

"Can we get this over with!" a tinge of frustration leaked from Ruki's voice as his patience was wearing thin with this man. He was in no mood to socialize, he wanted to get his payment and leave this pathetic world filled with incessant humans.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk Ruki," pointed the blue eyed demon. "Patience" he presented an aloof tone, praying he could reason with the assassin in front of him.

Ruki sensed a hidden agenda in his awfully placid tone and it angered him. He felt heat rising to his face and his usually emotionless tone was replaced with another frequent one, anger. Saito had no right acting like he was better, that he had power over the cloaked figure in front of him. In mere seconds, Saito, along with his chair, was pushed into a wall, cold metal pressed hard on his neck. Ruki's wolf like eyes shone in sadistic pleasure at the fear starting to creep up in the demon's eyes.

"You do not order me." A muffled voiced growled from under the cloak. "Do not think it is against my code to murder an insect like you…" He pressed the blade a bit harder into Saito's throat, making sure his dominance was made clear to the pale eyed demon. Without even seeing the face behind the hood, Saito understood how a demon of such small stature had no issue ruling an entire territory with an iron fist.

"Ruki…" Saito tried to keep his composure, but his air of confidence was slowly deteriorating. "I have one last request, if you may?"

"**You** do not make requests" The hooded assassin's patience was wearing thin and Saito knew he better get to his point quick before his head was detached from his body.

"I-I understand, but there is a fifth target…" Ruki's eyes narrowed to small slits as the silver blade pressed deeper into Saito's throat making a few drops of crimson start trickling down to the collar of his shirt, staining the white a deep red.

"I have done what you asked, the four targets in the ningenkai were eliminated; you mentioned no fifth." Feeling more blood, a look of complete terror was in the blue eyes of the weaker demon, the look a prey has when it has been captured by a lion three times its power. _'Fear,'_ thought the Silent Assassin _'Learn it Saito…'_

"Ruki," the demon stuttered, losing his composure completely at this point. This wasn't some random bounty hunter, this man was ruthless and he knew what he was doing. "I understand you are unhappy, but do you not want your prize?"

Ruki scoffed at the attempt to appease him. "I could just cut your little head off now and find it myself."

"…b-b-but I am not in the possession of the item" Saito felt the blade going through his flesh. "I-I don't e-even know where i-it is-s."

The pale faced demon was growing hot in the room, the mask in addition to the cloak was making him unnecessarily hot, and he needed to leave, soon. "Explain." He paused looking at the cowering mess under his fingers. "Nobody has ever been foolish enough to double cross me Saito." The room felt silent as the only light was the one that was casually knocked over on the desk. Saito's face was illuminated by the knocked over lamp, while Ruki's was hidden in the shadows even more, making his appearance that much more menacing. "Well!" he barked, causing the demon under his blade to flinch.

A hacking noise emitted from his throat as the blade drew more blood. "I-I c-c-can't breathe…"he coughed. Ruki loosened the pressure and stared intently at his soon to be prey.

"What you want…" he continued, getting slightly light headed from the intense pressure of the situation. "Will only be given to you after the fifth target is eliminated."

"Saito…" Ruki growled menacingly, with an evil smirk grazing the features behind the hood and mask. "I suggest you hurry up, my patience is wearing thin and I assume you value your life, do you not?" There was a glint of humor evident in the muffled voice of the Silent Assassin. Saito on the other hand has beads of sweat forming on his forehead from the current threats to his life.

"You see…" he mumbled, "I was told to hire you by my boss, and he said once you eliminate the last target, you will get your payment…" A deep animalistic growl emanated from the small figure. "I promise," Saito pleaded, like the pathetic pig he was. "One last target, by the name of Hiei Jaganshi and you will get what you want."

'_Hiei Jaganshi…'_ Ignoring the complete vagueness of his response, Ruki dropped the blade that was pressed against the other demon's neck. "Mukuro's right-hand man?"

Saito nodded his head briskly while rubbing his throat gingerly. "I assume you have heard of him?"

The figure turned around and began to walk towards the door. "You are lucky that my thirst for blood isn't fully quenched. One more human and the next body," Ruki turned around shooting on last glare. "would have been yours."

Saito took a gulp and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Don't you want to know where to find him? Or why?"

Ruki stopped walking and turned around. "No," he said briskly. "Your business is your own. But be sure that I will be back in a few days, if you do not have what I want then, you and your _associates_ are all dead." With that he was gone into the darkness.

Saito pushed back his head and took a long and shaky breath. Quickly he picked up his phone and dialed a number into the pad. _"Hello?"_ "Yes, hello my lord…" there was a long silence as Saito rubbed his aching neck. "Yes sir, he bought the bait."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

The cloaked figure walked in the shadows of the evening, earning strange looks from numerous humans passing by him. Ruki ignored it however, and instead focused on masking up his energy entirely. _'No use attracting unnecessary attention'_ he thought, hands deep in his pockets. He stared up at the midnight sky, stars and the moon shining bright, as if mocking his very existence. _'Hiei Jaganshi…'_ He made his way into the woods located at the very edge of civilization. A breeze picked up in the air and sent the scent of demons his way; he ignored it and let his mind drift into the vast amount of thoughts floating around. _'A strong opponent…but nothing I can't handle.'_ He thought arrogantly. Once in the confines of the woods Ruki put down his hood, allowing the cool air hit his face, but he didn't dare remove the chunk of carefully carved metal that he called a mask. The cool air picked up again and pushed the bangs covering his right eye, revealing a vertical shaped scar disappearing under the metallic mask, whose black swirls shone under the moonlit sky. His black hair was in a neat pony tail, shifting back and forth as the wind pleased. Hearing the snap of a twig, his wolf like eyes narrowed as he heard the grunting of two low level class demons behind him. He turned around to face two demons with mischievous smiles grazing their features.

"Hey Katsu," One said, his purple hair wild in the now increasing wind. "We seemed to have stumbled upon the Silent Assassin."

The second, green skinned bald demon smiled, his rows of teeth glinting in the light. _'Is that supposed to intimidate me?'_ Ruki thought rolling his eyes at the two. "I've heard a lot about you, but the rumors never described you so short and weak looking." He laughed mockingly.

"Now what is the Silent Assassin doing in **our** part of the human world? Maybe we should show him what happens to intruders?"

Ruki scoffed and arched his eyebrow. "Hn, don't waste my time." He turned back around, chuckling at their attempts at intimidation and continued his stroll.

"Don't turn your back on us!" one screamed, getting ready in a battle stance. "You're not even emitting enough energy to hurt a human! I'm gonna show you, **Silent Assassin**!" He ran at Ruki, claws and teeth standing out against his green skin. His claws slashed at the place where Ruki was standing, but what was a figure was gone and the green skinned demon's head was in its place, blood gushing on to the grass, staining the green a dark red.

"JIRO!" The purple haired demon named Katsu yelled, but it was too late. His companion was dead and had no way of coming back now. Katsu's eyes scanned the area for the Silent Assassin but all he saw were his partner's cold, blank eyes staring back at him in the moment of shock as he died. Katsu's black eyes widened as he felt cold metal against his neck, a soft, harsh breath was next to his ear. "Your friend was an imbecile," a muffled, cold voice reached his ears, it was low and menacing, inducing fear in the demon's being. "You should have chosen your allies wisely, but you didn't." In a sharp second, his head was rolling on the floor just like the others.

Ruki sheathed his sword and scoffed. "Idiots." The silent walk commenced as the Silent Assassin made his way to an abandoned house that was his temporary home. He approached a run-down house in the middle of the desolate forest. Slowly, he walked in and shut the door behind him to be greeted by an old couch standing in the middle of what seemed to be a living room, a practically naked kitchen complete with an old fridge, sink, and a table with chairs. Ruki took off his cloak and dropped it on a random chair standing near a dusty wooden table.

"I need to leave this place," he muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. The usually muffled, deep voice suddenly appeared to change into a silent, feminine one. "One more kill…" he told himself as he made his way to a mirror in the living room. Ruki stared at the masked figure in front of him; his pale hands reached up and unsteadily removed the clasps attaching the mask to his face. "…and you can go back and end this. One. More. Kill." He kept reminding himself as the mask came off. He looked at the chunk of metal in his hands, the one thing that kept the identity of the Silent Assassin a secret. His eyes left the mask and stared intently at the person being reflected back at him in the mirror. There stood the true Silent Assassin, a female. Staring back was a short female, plain in the face, striking wolf-like eyes and a long vertical scar going down from her eyebrow to her cheekbone. A scar usually covered by bangs and a cloak stared at her, reminding her of what brought her to where she was now. Tucking her bangs behind her ear, the demoness picked up her pale hand and traced the outline of the forever lasting marred piece of flesh. The light shade of pink stood out against the porcelain color of her face, as if glowing. "What have you done to yourself Rei…" she muttered, turning away from the mirror in disgust at herself.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

The sky was dark and the night was silent, Hiei sat in a tree staring off in to space, mind completely occupied with the current mission. _'This is ridiculous'_ he thought bitterly. _'I should be back in demon world, training, not wasting my time on some myth'_ He clenched his fists in frustration and slowly relaxed. A soft breeze picked up sending an unnatural stink up his nostrils. His frown deepened a suspicion coupled with paranoia flooded his already angered mind. _'How does he manage to escape us…'_

"Do you smell that Hiei?" a soft, yet guarded voice called from under the tree. Hiei didn't even bother looking down as he sensed the fox demon's energy under him.

Kurama stood leaning against the trunk of the tree, arms crossed, and eyes scanning and analyzing the forest. "Blood has been spilled not too long ago, demon blood."

"And this is unusual, fox?" Hiei grunted, not believing his own skeptic statement either.

"Do not tell me you do not feel that Hiei, it would be foolish to disregard such a foreboding sign." Kurama received no response from the fire youkai, who was deep in thought, crimson eyes scanning the tree tops. A silence washed over the two demons as a strong gust of wind carried an even stronger scent of demon blood to them. Hiei knew this was not just some random dispute over forest territory, the assailant was unharmed and exerted no energy killing, otherwise they would have felt that too. Hiei jumped down from the branch he was resting on, making no noise as his feet touched the floor.

"Kurama," he said, shooting his red haired companion a look. A silent agreement washed over the two demons as they sped off into the forest to investigate.


	3. Three

**A/N: I know not many people read this, but here is Chapter 3 :D I don't own anyone except my OC's :D**

The sun began to rise from the sky, shining its rays through the trees tops and on to an abandoned house in the depths of the forests. The house was marked with age that was not evident in the night before. The front door seemed as if it would collapse under the touch of a finger and the inside was no better. Little specks of sunlight peaked through the dusk covered windows, telling the female inside it was morning. At the table sat a distressed and tired looking female demon, hair a mess and clothes creased from staying in one position too long. Her eyes were transfixed at the metal blade held in her hands, in the process of cleaning the dried blood off of it. The newly sharpened katana glistened in the new rays of light, but the Rei's mind was elsewhere. _'Not my baby,'_ she thought bitterly, reminiscing about her stolen Zetsumei blade. _'But you will have to do.'_ She did not mind the lack of light protruding from the windows, in fact she relished in the darkness of the house. She had not slept in four days, since entering the human world, and the lack of sleep was evident in the dark circles forming under her eyes. Sleep was not an option for her, not with the need to finish her task and to leave this god forsaken world hanging over her head. Rei hated this realm; in fact she despised humans with an utmost passion. She hated their need for emotional attachment, their codependence on one another, and most of all, their fragility. But for those same reasons, she envied them. She envied them for all the emotions they were able to express and experience, emotions aside from anger. The kind of emotions she hasn't felt for centuries already. Rei's yellow eyes stared off into space, almost forgetting what she was doing at the moment, instead her mind traveled back to memories practically a century ago.

"_Rei," whined a bright, red haired girl. When she received no answer, the red head pounced on the short girl with ebony hair. The honey colored eyes of a younger Rei narrowed and met a pair of matching eyes on the other girl. As hard as she tried, she could not hold her composure and the anger she tried so hard to depict on her face failed because her eyes danced with joy and amusement._

"_What do you want Yumi?"_

_The red head jumped off the small black haired demon and sat on the ground across from her. "Must you leave so soon?" she asked, her smile faltering and disappearing completely from her face, only to be replaced by a frown._

_The older demon of the two stopped fastening the belts around her waist and sat down on the bed, staring intently at the eyes that so closely resembled her own. _

"_I have to Yumi, it is my job to make sure this territory is at peace." Innocent eyes stared back at her own jaded ones. How could eyes so similar in color be so different? Yumi was pure, innocent, so child-like and full of love, while her sister was tainted with bloodshed, gore, and most of all power. _

"_But can't you just send in a few others in your place?" She persisted, attempting to sway her sister's decision. _

_Rei let out a sigh of frustration and got up from the bed, continuing what she was doing before. "What kind of message would that send!" She snapped, looking for her mask. "That Lord Ruki is too much of a coward to face a few rebels! I don't think so." She began to fasten the mask around her face. "Ruki is a ruler, __**I**__ am a ruler. I don't think you realize the concept of controlling a territory in the demon world, it isn't just sitting on a chair and relaxing." The mask was fully on and Rei stared at a blank spot on the ground, back turned to her younger sister. "I need to show these people and everybody else that I am not to be trifled with." _

"…_What about Rei? You are showing the world that Lord Ruki is all powerful, but when do you have time to be Rei? My sister!" Yumi mumbled, desperately trying to keep the tears that threatened to pour down her face contained. "When do I get to see my sister?" She pleaded, hoping to get at least a few days. _

_Rei ignored her comments as she retrieved her katana from the table. "I'll see you in a few days Yumi." She said finally as she walked out of the room not even sending one look back at the saddened girl sitting on the floor. It—_

"FUCK!" a deep gash made its way across the pale hand of the demoness, breaking her from the previous, haunting memory. _'Shit, I need to focus'_ Rei put the blade down and cleaned up the wound that was pouring out from her hand. _'Such carelessness is going to get me killed'_ She down in the makeshift kitchen and put away all her sharpening tools and cleaning supplies. Quickly she found her way to a dresser and changed into a pair of training clothes consisting of baggy black pants and a sleeveless top. On her way out, she grabbed her newly sharpened katana, purposely leaving the mask and cloak behind in the house.

"I will not mess up." She repeated, assuring herself on the way out to a clearing nearby. "Tonight will mark my return."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"Ogre!" yelled Koenma, trying to see past all the stacks of paperwork the discretely increased over the span of a few days.

"Yes sir!" ran in a blue ogre, clumsily putting his hand at his forehead in a saluting manner.

"Put your hand down and tell me what do we have?"

"On what exactly sir?" Ogre asked genuinely confused, earning a look of complete disbelief from his boss.

"ON THE SILENT ASSASSIN YOU IDIOT! WHAT ELSE?" Koenma yelled, veins popping out from his neck and extending all the way up to his forehead.

"Oh, oh, right, um, no kills last night sir, at least no human kills." He responded, staring at the toddler who calmed down and laced his hands together on his desk.

There was a moment of silence before the toddler finally spoke up. "Are you positive?" he asked, dangerously eyeing the blue skinned ogre clad in a leopard print cloth in front of him.

"Yes sir! No human laced with demon energy."

Koenma sat silently again, causing a sense of nervousness to flood the ogre. As Koenma silently deliberated something in his mind, the room remained eerily silent. Botan hadn't been seen for a day now and Koenma was starting to get very worried, but he was praying she was just taking a few unannounced days off. "What about non-human?"

Ogre's face reeked of dejection as he pondered for a moment. "Um, I don't know sir."

The pulsating veins on the tiny ruler's upper body reemerged, "Well find out you imbecile!"

"Yes sir, yes sir." Ogre stumbled out of Koenma's office and ran to find the information that he needed.


	4. Four

**A/N:** ** There's some Hiei interaction :D Not the kind that we all want ;) but the story's picking up :D It took me forever to get the fight scene down, it isn't much -.- but still something :) Anyways, enjoy ?**

'_One hour before sundown…this is where it all starts.'_ Rei took a shaky breath and closed her eyes, body sore from training and colored black and blue. When she re-opened her eyes she felt a shift in her state of mind, she was no longer Rei, but she was Ruki, the Silent Assassin. Sharply turning her back to the sky she made her way to the house to suit up for her upcoming mission. _'One more'_ she kept reminding herself. Once inside the house she when to the bathroom and stripped herself of her wet and dirt covered clothes. Before stepping in she gave the mirror one look and stared at her marred body, scars going left, right, diagonally, ever shape possible, marred her body. Her shoulders, back, stomach, thighs, arms, she was a walking canvas. Her jaw clenched and eyes narrowed at the image in front of her. _'Too late for regrets…you made your choice'_ she assured herself, attempting to ease her soul. Rei stepped into the old shower, completely unconcerned at its worn down condition _'Beggars can't be choosers.' _ She turned the nobs and let the cold water soothing her aching body, stinging old wounds, new bruises, and different scabs. She was no woman; she was the embodiment of a man, scarred up body, calloused hands, and no evidence of softness. Rei finished her shower and stepped out, quickly drying up she wrapped up her torso, tightening up the wraps so the only evidence of her femininity was gone. Next went her pants, shirt, boots, and lastly her gloves. When she was finally dressed she came up to the discarded mask from last night, she gave it one hard look and strapped it on her face, covering the majority of it. She wrapped ebony hair in a ponytail, attached her newly sharpened katana, and slipped on her cloak, the one that was abandoned from the night before as well. _'Be ready Hiei…'_

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Yusuke barged into Koenma's office, brown eyes mirroring the look on his face: frustration. The Prince of Spirit World did not even bat an eyelash as the door slammed shut, instead he continued stamping documents in an attempt to rid his desk of the two foot pile of paper that never seemed to decrease.

"You seem unhappy, Yusuke," muttered the prince nonchalantly.

"Damn straight I am baby breath!" Yusuke yelled, glaring at the prince who did not even acknowledge his presence fully. "You send us on a wild goose chase, with no leads! How the fuck do you expect us to find this dude? Pull him out of a magic fucking hat Koenma! Do you think we have nothing better with our lives, that every second of our time is yours?" Yusuke was red in the face, but there was no response from the toddler sitting at the desk, he continued stamping away as if Yusuke's outburst never occurred. "ANSWER ME KOENMA!" At this point Yusuke was gripping the edge of the desk, knuckles white from rage and the force he was exerting.

Koenma finally looked up and faced the angered Detective. "I am so sorry Yusuke…but we are on the same page right now, I know just as much as you do…"

"THEN HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT US TO FIND HIM, USE A CANDY TRAIL OR SOMETHING!"

"I was hoping you would do the same thing you always do," he started, complete desperation in his voice. "You and your team always manage to accomplish the impossible, and I was praying you would do the same." Yusuke frowned at the ruler and kept staring intently. "…but I should have realized, you cannot find what does not want to be found."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"Tonight is the night everything begins." Rei stood at the hilltop near her worn down residence. The black cloak billowed in the wind, whipping back and forth; yellow eyes glowing in the setting sun. She squared her shoulders as the sun made it's depart, giving the city bellow a majestic orange glow. "Last day in this pitiful world…" She dug her hands into her pockets as a reflex, clenching them in the process. "Then I can go back…I will be ready for you…"

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Ten cut down trees, fifteen boulders, and gallons of sweat later, Hiei stood in the once beautiful clearing that now resembled a battle ground. His breathing was labored and uneven but that did not stop him. He growled at the lack of success with the Silent Assassin and picked up his katana again. Motivation and frustration burning in his eyes and renewing his energy, the fire youkai began swiping at the air, improving his already god-like speed and nearly flawless technique. Minutes turned into hours as the sun began to set and clouds signaling rain rolled in over the horizon, but that did not halt his training, he ignored the clouds and the sun and practiced. His mindless ambition and desire to always win is what made him practically unstoppable. He knew the rumors of the Silent Assassin and the capabilities this demon might possess, but he was strong too and there was no way he would be defeated. _'Over my dead body…'_ he thought as he flitted across the destroyed area attacking everything in sight. Clangs of metal and shattering rocks echoed throughout the perimeter. A breeze began to pick up, chilling the streams of sweat pouring down his body. Hiei's body tensed as the wind sent a sickly sweet scent his way. Grabbing the hilt of his sword, he turned to a large mass of trees, "Show yourself, Assassin."

Hiei narrowed his eyes as a hooded figure clad in all black, covered in a cloak emerged from the shadows. He could not believe his eyes at the demon in front of him, he barely emitted enough energy to harm a human, let alone rule an entire territory. A smirk grazed his sweat covered face. "Are you supposed to be the Silent Assassin?" he laughed arrogantly.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Rei leaned her back against a tree, clad in her disguise, watching her target intently. _'Hiei Jaganshi.' _Her eyes followed the crimson eyed demon's every move. She took note of his sword and fighting technique. _'Interesting…'_ she thought, realizing the Jagan wielder's technique so closely mirrored her own; his extreme precision, constant alertness and most of all, his arrogance. The same fatal arrogance she knew she possessed. She watched as his shirtless body glistened in the setting sun, every muscle contraction, every step, every twitch, she quickly analyzed and took note of it. Rei knew Hiei was not just some easy target she could surprise and kill; he would not be taken care of that easily. This man was dangerous and the prospect of such danger thrilled her. It sent her adrenaline pumping just thinking about the fight that will ensue. Her body ached for a good battle, just as her energy was aching to be released. Every move, every shattered boulder, split tree, and crater in the ground fascinated her. _'What a shame…to kill such an amazing specimen'_ she pondered. Silently, she waited, waited for him to take notice of an extra presence. Clouds covered the setting sun and a cool breeze picked up, shifting her cloak and setting the field to her advantage. She watched as the fire demon halted his assault on a boulder and turned around, staring in her general direction, crimson eyes burning. She saw his body tense as his bandaged hand reached for the hilt of his katana.

"Show yourself Assassin." He barked, eyes dangerously narrowed at her.

Rei stepped out from her post, hands in pockets, and a wicked smile plastered on her hidden face. She walked a few feet towards him and stopped, letting him assess her as she did him. She watched his emotionless face analyze and scrutinize in the process.

A smirk emerged on the fire demon's face. "Are you supposed to the Silent Assassin?" he laughed arrogantly.

Rei shrugged her shoulders and lazily looked over him once more. "I suppose so." An unnatural, muffled voice responded to him.

A malevolent laugh escaped from Hiei's mouth, revealing his fangs in the process. "This will not take long." He took out his sword, getting ready to fight.

Rei smirked, pride filling her body that she fooled the demon into thinking she was weak. "Exactly what I was thinking." She murmured, keeping the nonchalant tone as before.

"I can't wait until your blood stains my hands Assassin. The Prince will have to do without your life."

"Prove it." She growled, taking in the seriousness of his voice. "I have better things to do."

The two demons held their swords out, crimson eyes matching yellow ones with identical fires. Both circled one another, like two wolves fighting for their territory. The sun was close to gone and the rain clouds darkened to a deep gray, casting an ominous shadow over the area, setting the field to Rei's advantage. She waited, like she always did, cloak shifting back and forth, eyes scanning her opponent, waiting for him to make the first move. And in a few moments, Hiei was just like the others, he dove in sword ready. His inhuman speed was even quicker in battle than it was when he was training, getting caught a bit off guard, Rei rose her hand up, shielding her face, but allowing the sharp blade to dig deep through her cloak and right through the flesh of her forearm. Red began to ooze out and drench the light piece of cloth. Ignoring the sting, she hardened her eyes realizing she too has underestimated her opponent. _'Get a hold of yourself'_ quickly getting herself together, Rei sent a swift kick to his abdomen and narrowed her eyes. Hiei recovered in a matter of moments and landed on his feet, eyes staring back at hers. She watched him disappear for a second time, but this time she was ready. He made the mistake of using the same move twice and she combated swiftly with her own sword. The clash of metal echoed throughout the forest as the two demons fought it out. Head to head, neck to neck, they matched each other in speed and precision. Swipe down, block, slash, block, jab, miss, hook, block, neither progressed anywhere, with only a few minor cuts on both.

They jumped back to catch their breath and Rei threw off her cloak. It was getting harder to breath under the mask, but she coped, and realized that play time was over. Clenching both fists she began to release a few bits of energy through her, casting a faint purple glow.

Hiei smirked and wiped a trickle of blood going down his cheek. "So you are not as weak as you appeared." He chuckled. "Hn, no matter, I won't underestimate you again." His eyes fired up in determination as well as his demon energy.

"Good." Rei readied herself in a fighting position, the first time in decades. "I hope you don't mind rain, Hiei."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

A blur of blue hair ran through the hallways and straight into Koenma's office. "KOENMA! THERE'S BEEN A SPIKE OF DEMON ENERGY IN THE FOREST I-" Botan's purple eyes blinked stupidly as she saw the teenage form of Koenma standing in front of. "sir?"

"Yusuke, Kuwabra, and Kurama are on it." He said strictly. "Do you have what I asked you to find?"

She bowed her head. "Yes sir, we've found out who the Silent Assassin has been working for, he goes by the name of Saito. He's a demon working in the human world, but it doesn't make sense. Seeing the Silent Assassin's record with humans, I don't understand why he would even think of accepting an offer from him…"

Koenma closed his eyes, "We know nothing about the Silent Assassin and we cannot make rash assumptions anymore about him. Right now Hiei is fighting him and we can only hope this Ruki character isn't as strong as rumors tell."

"Where are you going Koenma-sir?" Botan asked; the complete opposite of the cheery soul she usually is.

"I have something I need to take care of, go make sure everything is okay with the boys."

Botan nodded her head grimly. "Yes sir."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

The two demons stared each other down, wind whipping their clothes back and forth. "I am sorry this is where it ends for you." Rei said, eyes as cold and void as her muffled tone. The sky was dark and foreboding, and the first crack of thunder was heard in the background.

"Hn, the same goes for you Assassin."

The two ran at each other full force, blades clashing. The two pushed for dominance in the air, neither one faltering. "You're holding back," He grunted, eyes staring down menacingly.

Rei broke from the hold, trying to confuse him with her speed. "So are you." She went for a kick in the head, but he caught her leg and threw her back. She landed on her feet with a grunt as if it was nothing. She went at him again, this time managing to throw the sword from his arm, embedding it into a tree. Using the moment of weakness she clenched her left arm, encasing it in an aura of shadow and sent a quick jab in the face throwing him a few feet back and into a tree. He quickly recovered and wiped the blood that slipped out from the side of his mouth. "A shadow user…" He mumbled. "I should have known."

Rei rubbed her arm and threw her sword aside. Hiei narrowed his eyes at her in a questioning manner. "I am an honorable person," she said, rolling back her shoulders. "It would not be fair if one has a weapon and the other doesn't."

Hiei scoffed and clenched his fists. "Your grave." His fists began to glow a bright yellow, whipping back and forth. "Fists of the Mortal Flame!" There was a giant spike in his speed and Rei barely caught his fists, but being occupied with his arms, she failed to notice his foot work and he sent a kick into her chest plate, throwing her deep into the dirt. Her arms burned from the flames, but she rubbed them in to the dirt and took a shaky breath. She rose back up and ignored the stinging sensation in her arms. They sped back up at each other, destroying the entire area in the process. Matching each other's unnatural speeds, Rei managed to get a good left hook but she was met with a jab right back at her. Both were sending and block multiple hits a second and going nowhere. She got another shadow fist into his stomach, which knocked him back a notch. She walked towards him, deliberating a fatal blow when he sprung up, grabbed her leg and flung her back a good ten feet in to the ground. She rubbed her temples and tried to collect her breath. Rei now understood more than ever why Mukuro had chosen him as her right hand man. She understood why the name 'Hiei Jaganshi' was known in the demon world as well. She watched Urameshi and his team in the Dark Tournament, but that was practically ages ago, his power nearly tripled. She shook her head, _'You're better than him.'_ The mask was restricting her breathing terribly, but all she did was cough and get back up. "It ends now."

She ran at him, matching his speed inch by inch. "Shadow Enclosure!" She came at an abrupt halt and dropped her hands to the ground, releasing a decent amount of energy at the target in front of her. Dark waves traveled on the crater filled floor and latched on to Hiei's shadow, bringing him to a complete and paralyzing halt. His eyes widened as he could not make a single move, all he could do is blink. She could see his struggle, trying to break free, but she perfected the art of the shadow technique and he was nowhere near perfect health.

Thunder and lightning rippled across the darkened sky as rain began to pour down. Rei got up and slowly walked towards the paralyzed fire demon. She knew she was wasting vital energy keeping him still, but time was of the essence. "It's a cheap trick, this one." She said referencing to the move as she picked up her discarded cloak and blade and walked towards the bruised up demon. She would be lying if she said this was an easy battle, but there was a reason she waited for him to finish training. "In an ideal world," she started, shaking her soaked head, putting the dripping cloak over her. "I would have left you now, and let you train." She was a few inches away from him, watching his narrowing eyes. "You are a formidable opponent, such a shame to kill you; I would have enjoyed a rematch one time." She took a sigh and gazed up at the sky for a moment before bringing her blade to his neck. "But alas, neither of us will have that pleasure." As she readied her blade to cut through his neck a loud, booming voice echoed in the background.

"SPIRIT GUN!" Too late to move, Rei's head met with a large blue orb of spirit energy, knocking her out completely and sending her mind into an abyss of darkness.


	5. Five

**A/N: ** **This is extremely short and just a small filler, this was intended to be in the next chapter, but with everything that's going to happen (i.e her getting captured and what not) I felt like this wouldn't fit in to anywhere, soo, here's just a small Team Urameshi piece that I felt had to be put in (: I'll try and get up a real chapter either tomorrow or the day after, I've got it all figured out…just need to type it up. T.T But in any case, you guys will finally know what's up with Rei :P I can't wait to see the reactions to that *ahem* sorry for this one…**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Kurama stopped running and stared at the vast amount of explosions occurring deep in the forest. The earth rumbled as trees collapsed on to one another in the distance. Clouds of smoke erupted in the air, they were not far, but every second counted. He turned his head to look at Yusuke and Kuwabara. The three detectives exchanged looks of worry as another bone retching explosion occurred, sending another wave of dust into the air. Kurama narrowed his eyes as a sickly familiar stench of death faintly crept up his nose. Two waves of demon energy erupted in the forest, one being Hiei's, but the other unfamiliar to them. Kurama smelled the air once more; he knew that scent from somewhere. After a slight moment it dawned to him, it was the same scent the Silent Assassin possessed, the same scent that was one the dead bodies of the two demons he and Hiei investigated and once in…Koenma's office? His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, _'No, I'm just over analyzing the situation.'_

"Guys," He heard Kuwabara's deep voice rumble. "Do you feel that?" His voice was laced with worry and tinge of fear. The double bursts of energy sent his senses into tiny spasms.

Yusuke looked at the same explosions and faintly nodded his head. "Yeah buddy," Eyes dangerously narrowed, he let out a grunt of frustration. "The Silent Assassin's definitely here." There was a slight silence amongst the three. "UGH! Why does Hiei always get to have all the fun?" Kurama noticed the slight pang of worry in his voice, but made no remark and just nodded his head. The black haired detective sped off wordlessly in the direction of the explosions.

"Kuwabara, are you coming?" Kurama spared no look back and followed Yusuke's lead.

"I'M COMING!" Kuwabara attempted to speed up as fast as his human body allowed him, but he was no match for the other two. Instead, with a grunt the orange haired human barely managed not to face plant into the ground.

As they ran through the forest, Kurama's nose picked up on the scent once more. _'Ruki..'_ Emerald eyes narrowed as the demon sped forward, red hair flailing in the wind behind him. _'What are you doing?'_ The source of energy became even stronger as they approached their destination. The sun has set deep into the sky and the air smelled as if it would pour down at any moment. Kurama's mind was reeling in an attempt to piece the puzzle of their situation together. _'He was never this reckless…what game are you playing?'_

An inhuman voiced echoed throughout the trees. "SHADOW ENCLOSURE!" Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara exchanged a weary glance and knew they did not have much time. Another crack of thunder and a flash of lightening rippled through the sky as the sound echoed in the distance, making the detectives speed up their efforts even more. Rain dropped down from the sky in large chunks. The sound of combat and the falling of trees halted. Hiei's energy was slowly fading, while the second stood strong in the air. A tinge of fear rippled through the kitsune's body as an eerie silence washed over the forest coupled with the pounding rain drops against the ground.

Yusuke was first to arrive and it took him moments to register the two, practically identical figures. He recognized Hiei's unmoving form in an instant. The second, cloaked figure, who barely matched Hiei in height, had a sword to their friend's neck. _'So this is the bastard we've been chasing'_ Realizing the severity of their situation, panic raced through Yusuke's body. Kurama, shortly followed by Kuwabara, arrived seconds later with the same look of shock written across their faces. _'Why the fucking aren't you moving Hiei?'_

"He's got Hiei trapped…" Kurama muttered, rose whip at hand ready to attack. _'What are you doing Ruki?'_

"What are we doing standing here we-AH!"

Kuwabara was cut off by Yusuke's bellowing voice. "SPIRIT GUN!" His finger was pointed straight at the cloaked figure, and to their extreme shock the giant ball of energy made contact with the assailant's head, flinging him back a good five feet from Hiei, body dropping to the ground with a silent thud.

"Jeez Urameshi! How about a warning next time!"

Yusuke took a deep sigh of relief. _'Thank god he didn't move or Hiei would have been fried.'_

Watching Hiei's body drop, the detectives ran to their friend's aid only to get shoved back in the process. Growling, the short demon stomped towards Yusuke, rage in his crimson eyes. The rain beat down even harder, but none paid attention to it.

"I did not need your help, Detective!" He growled, still attempting to look fierce in his current beat up state.

"Hiei, please, there is nothing wrong with admitting-"

"No one asked your opinion, fox!" Hiei's eyes did not leave Yusuke's face for a moment. Every attempt made by Kurama and Kuwabara to ease the fire youkai was blatantly ignored. "He was **mine**."

Yusuke laughed bitterly, "Yours? He was yours? From what it looked like, he," Yusuke said, pointing to the body that laid limp on the ground. "…was about to cut your head off!" Another crack of thunder was heard in the distance. The rain dropped even harder, drenching the four detectives and the one body on the floor.

"I had it under control!"

"SURE AS HELL LOOKED LIKE YOUR WERE GETTING YOUR ASS KICKED HIEI!"

Kurama shook his head at his two teammates and went to pick up the unconscious body off the muddy ground. He stood over and stared as the terror known as the Silent Assassin laid face first in the mud, looking anything but fearful.

"So that's him?" Kuwabara came next to Kurama, staring at the seemingly lifeless body.

The red haired demon nodded his head and crouched down to pick him up. "It would seem so…" He rose up, realizing the lightness of the demon in his arms. Looking down at his mud stained mask and face, Kurama shooed Kuwabara's hand away from the mask, pushing his own curiosity aside. "We will find out in time, otherwise it is disrespectful." Kuwabara did not question, but rather nodded his head faintly, understanding the honor code very well.

The sound of two angered voices could be heard bickering in the background. Kurama made a futile effort in shaking the water from his hair and made his way towards Koenma, taking note of the large man's unnatural silence in the process. "He is going to awaken soon; it would be wise if we started to head out before then."

Kuwabara turned his head, "YOU TWO, QUIT ARGUING AND LET'S GET THIS GUY TO KOENMA'S!"

Yusuke and Hiei looked away from each other and at Kuwabara. Hiei gave them one last look of disgust. "Hn, call me when the Assassin wakes up." With that said he disappeared, body bruised and ego destroyed.

Yusuke's mood darkened as he walked towards Kurama and Kuwabara, muttering a string of profanities directed at the recently departed fire demon. "Let's just get out of this damn rain…"

Hiei received a terrible blow to his pride, everybody knew that. Kurama stared at the body that laid in his arms once more, as they began to head back. _'How strong is this Ruki…I have never seen him leave traces of his energy anywhere.'_ Kurama pondered at the thought, realizing just how lucky Hiei truly was that this demon had been distracted when Yusuke shot.

"Guys!" The three turned around to face a soaked Botan zipping up on her oar towards them. She jumped off and stared at the area of debris around them. "Is that…" She said pointing at the limp body in Kurama's arms. The three solemnly nodded their heads. "But, where's Hiei?"

Yusuke's face darkened as he stomped forward, practically stepping into every puddle.

Kurama just shook his head and Kuwabara laughed. "He went to sulk in his little tree. Pip-squeak couldn't handle getting his butt kicked!"

The fox demon chuckled at his teammates, mind still occupied with the demon in his arms. The rain still fell, making the area around them that much more depressing. "We better hurry; he won't stay like this long."


	6. Six

**A/N: HAHA I did an evil thing here, kind of. Well in any case, next chapter might take a few days or so, but from the way I'm looking at it, it's going to have a crap load of information, so everything, well mostly everything, will finally be answered. SO keep on the lookout for the next chapter. :D This is my last bit of stalling. ^.^**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"Okay! We're here, now why isn't the toddler?" Yusuke paced around Koenma's empty office, grumbling to himself, hands deep in his pockets and head dropped low. The four detectives stood in the office, exhausted and frustrated. The Prince's desk was as it always was, piled up with paperwork and folders, but the Prince himself was nowhere to be found.

"I believe something is troubling him?" Kurama leaned over, whispering lowly to his large, orange haired teammate, eyeing the black haired detective pacing back and forth.

"This is bullshit! We've got the guy, why the hell are we still waiting!"

"…Aside from this mission…" Kurama continued.

Kuwabara busted out in laughter, deep rumbles emitting from his stomach. "He just needs to see Keiko." He walked over to where Yusuke stood, draping a large pale arm over his best friend's shoulder, only to receive an annoyed sigh and a shove to the side.

"Shut it Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled, turning the other way.

The red headed demon furrowed his eyebrows. "Have they been fighting?" His green eyes softened, already knowing the answer to that question.

"He forgot another date or something," Kuwabara continued, ignoring Yusuke's glares completely.

"DON'T TALK ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT HERE!" shrieked the black haired detective in protest, veins popping up on his forehead.

"Yea! He forgot another date, you see, Urameshi here, has absolutely no sense of romance."

"I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU BIG IDIOT!" Face red with rage and eyes burning Yusuke stomped over to Kuwabara while Kurama merely shook his head, regretting that he even brought up the topic to begin with. _'Keiko must be very unhappy to have Yusuke so irate…'_

"I would never leave my sweet and darling Yukina!" continued the orange headed giant, chest puffed out with pride. "…even if the devil himself threatened to kill me!"

"Watch what you say, cretin" Kuwabara jumped up at the sound of Hiei's voice behind him, crimson eyes dangerously narrowed. "Yukina is of no concern to you."

His threats had no avail as a dreamy look glazed over Kuwabara's features, eyes sparkling. "We're soul mates."

Yusuke stifled a laugh, "You hear that Hiei? Soul mates"

Hiei tried to contain his disgust with the creature in front of him. "Hn, imbecile." He scoffed and walked over to the corner of the room, bandaged up and fixed from the previous battle. But the three knew better than to mention his defeat, not unless they wanted their heads separated from their bodies.

Kurama walked over to Hiei, as Kuwabara plopped down in one chair while Yusuke continued grumbling to himself. "Did you get yourself checked up?" His gaze softened at the spikey haired demon.

Crimson eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "I'm fine." He declared, looking away to another direction.

A sigh escaped from the kitsune's mouth as he leaned against the wall. Yusuke continued pacing back and forth in the room. "Screw this! I'm going to die of old age before he gets here!" He made an attempt to open the door, but as he swung it open there stood Koenma, toddler form and all.

"Get back in the room Yusuke." He declared, shutting the door behind him. The prince made his way to the desk, settling comfortably in the chair. "I am assuming the Silent Assassin was captured and now in the dungeons?"

Kurama gave a crisp nod. "He has been apprehended-"

"WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG!" Yusuke interrupted rage still present in his eyes.

"I had some business elsewhere, now can you calm down so we can get this over with." A deep sigh resonated from Koenma. "Did he tell you anything?"

All eyes turned to face Hiei. "Hn."

Koenma furrowed his eyebrows. "I guess not…Now's the time to find out."

Yusuke plopped down next to Kuwabara in the chair, letting out one sigh of frustration. _'Keiko's going to kill me.'_

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Following orders to retrieve the Silent Assassin, Botan walked down to the dungeons accompanied by two lizard guards. She was just itching to get a good look at the man who rose fear into the bodies of demons everywhere. It was dark, wet, and cold, and it gave the purple eyed girl the creeps every time she walked down here. It not only gave her shivers, but frightened her tremendously; prisoners screaming, crying, or just looking at her with the most menacing eyes, filled with hatred and evil. She shuddered at the thought. The two guards walked in front of her, whispering to one another.

"So it's really the Silent Assassin?" one asked, eyes wide in shock. Botan would have usually scolded them, but in all honesty, she was in just as much awe as they were.

"I guess we'll see in a moment." The other turned, beady eyes staring at the blue haired reaper walking behind them. "Are you sure it's this one, Botan?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Yep, this one." She pointed to the dark cell in the corner. "Cell number 156."

The two lizards walked up to the barred entrance and Botan followed. Eyes squinted at the darkness in the dungeons. She peeked in and saw a body bunched up under a cloak. _'He can't still be knocked out…can he?'_ The two guards banged on the cell doors for a moment, attempting to wake him up, but no avail. They tried again, but the body didn't even move. It was nestled deep in the shadows, almost unseen by most that would pass by.

"Do we wake him?" one of the two asked, staring at Botan intently.

She waited for a moment before crisply nodding her head. "Koenma said it was urgent to get him up to his office immediately." The two went to open the door but she quickly grabbed one of their hands. "Wait; be cautious, we don't know what he is capable of."

They nodded their heads and proceeded to putting a key into the hole, unlocking a whole set of locks that held the practically indestructible door. The two guards gave each other a look of caution, as they slowly crept into the dainty cell. Botan took a few steps back and waited at the wall parallel to the cell, watching intently. _'One of the boys should have come with me…'_

The two prison guards poked the body with their feet, trying to shift the sleeping form of the Silent Assassin, only as their feet came in contact with the cloak, it deflated on to the ground. The two lizards exchanged a look of worry. _'Koenma's going to kill us'_

"Fuck…" One mumbled, as they searched around the small cell block, finding no remnants of the prisoner ever being there aside from a muddy, black cloak.

"Is everything okay boys?" Botan asked, approaching the cell cautiously, purple eyes full of worry and confusion. The two lizards faced her with a look of utter confusion and terror.

"He's not in there…" one mumbled, scratching his head.

Botan felt the world collapse under her for a moment. _'Oh my, Koenma.'_ Without even realizing, she was running to the Prince of Spirit World's office as fast as she could. Zipping past all the workers, people, ogres; she swung the door leading to Koenma's office open, taking deep gasps in the process.

"BOTAN!" Kuwabara screeched, running up to her, in an attempt to help her up.

"What happened?"

Hands on her knees, the blue haired girl tried to keep the world from spinning. "He's…gone" She mustered, taking shaky breaths in the process.

"**WHAT!**" the entire room went silent and the tension increased.

"Botan," a head of red hair got off the wall and came next to her, green eyes staring intently. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"I, oh lord, I came down with the guards to get him and there was nobody, just a cloak." Her hands flew to her head, burying themselves in locks of blue. "Oh god…"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!" The temperamental, black haired detective flew up from his chair, steaming.

"Koenma?" Green eyes stared the toddler Prince at his chair. His eyes were twitching in irritation. "Who in their right mind would put a shadow demon in a dungeon cell without spirit cuffs?" His face was red with rage, veins protruding from every direction. "They're fired; I swear they are all fired!"

"WE HAVE TO FIND HIM AGAIN!" the two human boys shrieked, frustration building up from the very core of their body. Botan stood nervously, watching the scene unravel, feeling slight guilt over the fact that she didn't make sure everything went down smoothly.

After a moment of silence Koenma spoke up, eyes hard and focused. "I have an idea where he might be."

"Perfect." Hiei growled, finally speaking up. "Hn, he's mine."

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

A small girl made her way through the forests, face covered in brown dirt and crusts of the same color all over her black clothes. To any bystander, she just looked like a lost teenager, wandering through the forest. In reality, Rei was livid. _'This is disgusting'_ she thought bitterly, as her hand reached up to touch the crusty, dried up mud forming in chunks on her hair. Mask buried deep in the pockets of her pants, Rei phased in and out of the shadows avoiding all living forms of life. _'That was way too close of a call'_ She thought back as the large ball of energy made contact with the back of her head, her pale arm touched the sore spot and felt a decent sized scab forming in the back. _'I was careless…I deserve every ounce of punishment that came with it' _She stomped through the puddles in the night, thankful that the rain had seized. Her yellow eyes scanned every area, analyzing, calculating and making sure not one soul would take notice to her. Her head was dropped low just as her energy. _'I've grown rusty'_ she scolded herself._ 'How in the fucking hell am I supposed to take on Hiro, when I can't even fight off a bunch of detectives…'_ Rei's mind was reeling, soon self-pity turned to anger, anger that had been boiling in her mind for almost a century. _'You killed my sister you bastard.'_ Yellow eyes narrowed dangerously as she stormed into her make shift home. Time was of the essence, it would soon be dawn and she had little time to spare. Rei flew into the bathroom, throwing off her muddy and torn up clothes. Stepping into the shower, she turned the nobs letting the hot water sting her new wounds and bruises. _'No more games'_ Brown water pooled up at the bottom of the tub, cleaning off her body completely. _'No more hiding'_

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"Good evening Saito…" The name left Rei's lips like venom. Eyes narrowed dangerously and jaw clenched under her mask.

The olive skinned demon's head shot up from his desk fear clearly evident in his pale eyes. "What…how…my …"

"Your guards?" An unnatural voice filled the room. "Dead." She took a step forward, calmly sitting down in the chair parallel to the terrified demon. "You see, I don't usually take casualties, but I **hate** being set up." Rei put one leg over the other, lacing her fingers on top of her raised knee. The lights in the room were on and barely shining. Her usually cloaked figure felt naked without one, but there would be time to replace it. "I knew you had something planned, but to my own chagrin, I decided to ignore it. So I paid for that mistake, now you…will have to pay for yours…." She sat calmly, unmoving, watching the other demon squirm in his seat. Saito knew he was no match for the Silent Assassin; beads of sweat began to roll down his forehead.

"I…I was just following orders…" He stuttered, lips quivering like a child.

She sat there, face hard and emotionless. Black hair fell around her masked face, revealing no identity to the demon in front of her. "You expected me to be captured, but I don't think **you** realize who you made a deal with." Saito tried to move, but no body parts seemed to cooperate from him aside from his head. "Don't bother moving, you're in my territory now." A tense silence washed over the room. Yellow eyes fixated on the terrorized figure sitting in front. "Now you listen and you listen closely," A muffled laugh resonated from Rei's body. "Not like you have much of a choice dear Saito."

"You're going to tell me who's ordering you around-"

"You're-" He started, but was cut off by an aggravated voice.

"I'm not finished." Rei growled, narrowing her eyes for a moment before relaxing. "As I was saying, you are going to tell me who told you to hire me, you will tell me what the exact plan was, and you will tell me where my Zetsumei is, considering it is because of you I lack not one, but two blades at the current moment. And, if I am satisfied with your answers, maybe I will spare your life, if not, well, you will suffer the same fate as your henchmen."

The olive skinned, black haired demon chuckled nervously, attempting to channel the last bits of his courage. "What makes you think I am going to betray my boss? The detectives will be here any moment; I spoke to the Prince. Actually, right before you were captured." He gave off a malicious laugh but stopped once he felt his body was fully paralyzed.

Rei shook her head, laughter starting to build up in her throat, bitter laughter. "You don't think I knew that?" I devious smirk grazed the hidden features of her face. "A few moments are all I need. You see, unlike the last detective, you have little to no demon energy. You're weak. I don't usually waste my energy on things like you, but I felt this would make a very good statement." Rei got up, releasing a whole gust of power around the room. Shadows engulfed them completely, light bulbs popped, windows shattered as an unnatural darkness took over Saito's body, closing off his movement and body functions completely. "You see, with beings like you, it's like squashing a bug. Now you have a few minutes before you run out of air and die, so I suggest you make up your mind." Yellow eyes shone in the darkness, radiating pure hatred. "I told you Saito, I don't like being set up and you don't seem like the type who wants to die. Speak."

After a few seconds, Rei let some control of his body go and watched as the demon gasped for air in the middle of coughing. _'Insolent being.'_ She calmly walked over to him, knowing full well he couldn't see a thing. "H-Hiro…he hired me. I know nothing e-else. H-h-honest. He s-said th-that I should g-give you Hiei as a-a-a target and l-leave the rest t-to him." A deep growl escaped from Rei's throat. _'Bastard' _She narrowed her eyes at the quivering demon. "Pathetic, you sold out your loyalty in mere seconds." She sat back in a chair as the now dead demon fell from his. Rei closed her eyes as the room became significantly lighter. _'Now to play the waiting game'_

Moments later the doors burst open. "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT GOING ANYWHERE ASSASSIN!" yelled the voice of Yusuke Urameshi.

Rei rose up from her chair, arms up in defeat. Slowly she turned her head to see the four detectives eyeing her suspiciously. "I'm all yours." Her eyes landed on the spiky haired demon on the far right whose crimson glare was directed straight at her. "Glad you're doing better Hiei."

* * *

><p>If anyone was wondering well here's the list of song titles for the last chapters: Hold On - All That Remains, The World Belongs To Me - My Darkest Days, Out Of My Head - Puddle of Mudd, Won't Go Quietly - All That Remains, Two Birds Stoned At Once - Chiodos, Crooked Spoons - OTEP<p> 


	7. Seven

**Okay guys, so sorry, really, and this chapter is a disappointment too, but don't worry, I have this whole scene written out on loose leaf in play type form, and im working on turning it into an actual story now. It was intended to be longer but I feel that I waited so long to let this out, that you guys deserved at least something, no matter how uninformative it is just to show im still alive and this story isn't forgotten. :) Anyways, don't hate me too much. Working on the rest now. :D **

"Ruki Nishimora" Silence followed as the Prince of Spirit World stared down the masked figure standing in front of him. His unreadable stare was countered by Rei's cold, unwavering one. No one said anything. Seconds felt like minutes as the tension in the room increased dramatically. Rei shifted from one foot to the other, hands bound by Spirit Cuffs. _So it begins…_ She thought as Yusuke and Hiei stood leaning against the door, blocking her exit; impatience radiating from one and anger from the other.

"Also known as the Silent Assassin." The toddler prince continued as he picked up a large folder and shuffled through it. The silence remained as Rei began to formulate a plan in her head. She could have escaped, but she didn't. Something kept her, but that something put her in a predicament that was hard to weasel out of. She took a sigh and shifted her wrists, the small movement made all the detectives tense up. _I am not volatile…_

"I've had enough of this!" Yusuke finally got fed up in frustration; brown eyes glowing with agitation. "How about this asshole takes off his mask…AND WE GET ON WITH OUR LIVES!" He threw his hands up and walked to the center of the room, facing Koenma. "Can you sentence him or something so I can escort him down and LEAVE!"

"Calm down, Yusuke" started Koenma, not even looking up from the large folder.

"CALM DOWN! YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN BABY BREATH!" No one moved an inch as the team leader started off on another rant. "This guy's been leading us on a wild goose chase for almost a week, we have him. What the fuck!"

"Sit down Yusuke," the toddler continued.

Rei rolled her eyes and closed them, shifting her weight to the other foot again. _This is going to take a while…_ She felt a presence behind her but kept still and unwavering.

"What I would like to know," she heard the voice of the fox demon from behind. "…is why are you in the Human World? From what I recall, you loathe their kind."

Rei felt a small smirk tug at her lips. "I guess Youko did not forget." All eyes turned to the short demon standing in the center of the room.

'_How could this pipsqueak almost kill Hiei?'_ Yusuke's eyes remained plastered to the masked captive. _'There is no energy radiating off of him at all…what the fuck?'_ To Yusuke and Kuwabara, all they saw was a short, scrawny demon covered up from head to toe. _'How is this the former ruler…?' _…but to the two other demons, stood a threat to everybody's safety. Rei felt Yusuke's intense gaze but stood still and let her eyes wander to the window.

After what seemed like countless hours of bickering and silent stares, a loud, obnoxious voice of the orange haired human broke the masked assassin out of her thoughts. "Why the shrimp? Out of everybody, why try and kill him?"

She slowly shifted her gaze from the window and to the orange haired giant; his beady black eyes making contact with hers. However, as soon as her mouth opened, a cold voice was already speaking behind her. "Refer to me like that again lummox and I will make sure you will never speak again."

Taking a deep breath of agitation, Rei rolled her eyes and shifted from one foot to the other. _'I hate standing in one spot…'_

"Do you mind?" She finally spoke up, a distorted, low one coming out instead of her normal one. All conversations stopped, arguments halted, as the whole room shifted their attention to the demon in the center of the office. Slowly she raised he wrists toward the ruler of the Spirit World. "They chafe."

The entire group almost fell upon hearing her ridiculous request. Yusuke, being on the edge all day, did not find any humor in the demon's request. "What, so you can escape again?" His voice was laced with sarcasm. "Unlikely" he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

His response was met with a snort from the captured demon. "I came willingly…" she muttered in agitation.

That response caused uproar from Kuwabara. "We captured you! Fair and square!" He puffed out his chest with pride but as he looked at the demon, the yellow eyes were fixated on anything but him.

Rei kept her stare at the Prince in front of her, who was staring at an unusually large folder and said nothing through this whole ordeal. Finally he looked up and laced his fingers under his chin. "Take off the mask." He spoke, eyes fixated on the demon in front of him.

Noticing the lack of levity in his voice Rei squared her shoulders. "Exactly what am I being charged for, _your highness_?"

"You were given an order, Assassin." Growled the voice of the fire youkai behind her.

Rei ignored his harsh tone and kept her stare on the toddler. "I have a right to know."

The demon's placid tone made Koenma wary. Demons, especially most wanted demons, do not hand themselves over so calmly. If he wanted to, he could have escaped, killed everybody, and never came back. But he's standing here now, cuffed and imprisoned. Why? Koenma took a deep and shaky breath, opened up the large folder and read off the top. "Illegally crossing over the makai barrier-"

"So throw me back in. Not my fault security is shoddy."

Ignoring the commentary Koenma continued. "Killing four humans."

"Proof?" Yellow eyes lazily watched the Prince's face.

Rei watched as his face fell and jaw clenched. "How about attempting to kill one of my detectives?" He shut the folder and slammed it on the desk. His cool and calm exterior crumbled to reveal agitation and confusion. She smiled under her mask realizing he has nothing to condemn her for completely.

"Attempt, Prince. From what I see," She motioned to the seething fire demon. "…he's still alive. If that is my charge, how about I finish the job?" A dark gleam resurfaced in her yellow eyes.

All the detectives took a step forward except one. As the words left her lips a cold blade was at Rei's neck. "Are you sure about that?" Growled Hiei from behind her.

"I dare you." She growled back. "Cut. My. Head. Off." The light air around her disappeared in an instant. After a moment of heated tension, what started as a chuckle turned into a fit of hysteria. "What? No one got my joke?" She stated wryly from under Hiei's hold.

"ENOUGH! Put him down Hiei." A moment of silence and resignation registered as her finally released hir with a 'hn.' "I have a whole folder full of charges Nishimora," Koenma took a deep breath. "I suggest you start following my orders."

"Okay."

"So remove the mask…" Yusuke yelled in frustration.

"Remove the cuffs…" She reasoned.

She saw the looks that were shot at Koenma. He swiftly nodded his head. Reis took still as the red haired demon came up to her. "May I?" He motioned toward her arms.

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she raised her arms to him. "I don't remember you this polite Youko."

He ignored her statement and slowly removed the cuffs. "Please, do not call me by that name."

"You make a single move," She turned her head to the hanyou who had his finger pointed her head in a gun shape. "And boom." He made it seem as if the gun made off.

"Noted."

Slowly the cuffs came off and she felt her power rushing back from her reserves. "One condition."

Koenma kept his gaze on her. "And you are in the position to make demands?"

"Well, let's just say this won't hurt you in any way." She muttered, trying to formulate a strategy. "Whatever I say…does not get out." She looked up at the Prince, eyes softening. "Please."

Slowly, but surely, all detectives nodded their head and Rei raised her hands and began unclasping each buckle, one at a time. Her hands shook as she removed the metal off her face. She watched every expression change from curious to dumb-founded, all except the fire demon near the window. His eyes narrowed and she felt a deep annoyance radiate off him.

"WHAT THE FUCK! YOU!"

"Rei?"


	8. Eight

"Rei?"

She stood there firmly holding her mask, keeping her eyes directly on Koenma's. She felt no remorse, no guilt, nothing. There was a job that she left unfinished for almost a century, it was now or never. Koenma would just have to deal with the so-called betrayal he felt.

The room was silent and tense. Nobody knew what to say or how to react. The Silent Assassin stood in front of them, unmasked, yet no words could come to anybody's mouth. One of the most feared demons of the Makai was a short, practically harmless looking female, how? Yusuke stood squinting trying to envision the black haired girl inflicting any damage but the image would not compute. She was shorter than Hiei, pale like a sheet of paper, and radiated absolutely no ki at all. _What the fuck?_ "YOU'RE THE SILENT ASSASSIN! WE SPENT ALL THIS TIME LOOKING FOR YOU! REALLY?"

Rei's eye twitched as the detective yelled. She felt her jaw clench as he made circles around her, inspecting and muttering. She looked at the Prince for any sign of speaking but there was none. He was in deep thought alongside Kurama.

"But…you're a girl…" The orange haired oaf finally yelled out.

"And so small!" Yusuke spoke up next to her, pinching his fingers close to each other to emphasize her height.

Taking a deep breath, Rei closed her eyes and clenched her fingers around her mask. "…this is why the mask stays on." She muttered, jaw clenched and grinding her teeth.

"…I knew something was off…" She finally heard Kurama speak after a while.

Her head snapped to the side and went from the red haired demon to the short one next to him. The fire youkai's eyes were blazing with fury causing an internal smirk and a burst of pride in Rei. _That's right asshole, you got your ass kicked by me. _

In mere moments of thinking that, Yusuke thought exactly what everybody wanted to say. "Hiei got his ass kicked by a girl!" He finally yelled out, putting his face right next to the angry demon. It was a known fact that Hiei doesn't like to lose and losing to a female only made him that much more irate.

"I did not lose!" He growled in response, body shaking in fury.

"I don't think so shrimp, we had to come and save your ass. If not for me, you would have been dead, because of her" He pointed to the center of the room and exploded in laughter.

A deep sigh left Rei's lips and she turned her head around, shifting from one foot to another.

"Is this some kind of joke Rei?" Koenma's soft voice broke her from staring at her hands. She looked back up and stared at the confused face of Koenma. "Under my nose all these years…" he muttered, shaking his head. "How did nobody notice?" His head rested on his hand, eyebrows furrowed, and lips pursed.

Suddenly she was surrounded by both dumb and dumber. "Wait, where are your boobs!" Kuwabra's finger began poking her arms.

"Don't. touch. Me. Human." She snapped, making him retract his hand.

"And nobody ever noticed…?" Kurama spoke, eyebrows furrowed. He stayed near the wall, unmoving alongside Hiei.

"You never seemed to notice…and I would say you were pretty sharp back in the days."

Kurama ignored her jibe at him and continued to think, probably thinking back to the old demon world days.

The two humans kept circling around her, causing a wave of nausea to hit her. Rei did not like to be the center of attention. People annoyed her. Crowds nauseated her and loud noises made her want to murder everybody. This was not the correct situation.

Hiei's eyes remained her from the beginning. Probing, scanning, and examining. He was not ashamed of his stare and kept it on her even when she met it. Fists clenched and body tense he finally spoke, "And how do we know you are not an imposter."

Rage engulfed the small female. "I could gladly wipe the floor with you again." Her eyes narrowed and shoulders squared. "I do not take slander lightly."

"I would not mind seeing Hiei get his butt kicked." Came a loud, obnoxious, deep voice near Yusuke.

"Then explain yourself, onna."

"I don't answer to you." She growled, nostrils flared and eyes staring back at the fire demon. The silent staring contest began and neither backed down.

The demon took a step forward, hand reaching for his blade and eyes still locked on hers. "Maybe you'll answer to my blade."

A short laugh left the shadow demon's lips. "Funny, because it didn't seem so terrifying before"

Laughter and snickers came from Yusuke and Kuwabra like two little girls. "She's got a point there Hiei."

"ENOUGH!" The toddler prince face was now stone cold and serious. He took a deep breath and looked at the short demon standing in the center of the room, back to him. "Start explaining."

"That is a very large spectrum, your highness."

"QUITE PLAYING AROUND!" Yusuke was back to his normal impatient self. "Why'd you go after the shrimp?"

"Yes," the fox demon spoke. "Please, tell us, why Hiei?" His green eyes probed hers, trying to get any answer or physical emotion but he got none. She stayed stoic and composed. _I can't get anything from her._

Rei shrugged her shoulders in response. "It was circumstantial."

"Circumstantial?" Kuwabara echoed, beady eyes squinting.

"It wasn't personal, she means." Kurama interjected.

"I know what that means guys!"

A growl was heard near the window. "That explains nothing."

"From the beginning." Koenma finally spoke up. "Start from the beginning."

Rei's eyes glazed over as her fists finally unclenched, releasing the metal from her death grip. "What did you see when you first saw me?" Her voice was soft, quiet, and nothing like what is expected from the so-called Silent Assassin.

"That's some short ass dude!" Yusuke laughed, earning a chuckle from Kuwabara.

Rei shook her head and pushed some stray hairs from her pony tail behind her hair. "It was really directed towards Kurama, but forget I even mentioned it." A small sigh escaped her lips. "In the makai, especially before, females do not get the respect they deserve. Under estimated and mocked. Before this," she motioned at her attire "I lived with my younger sister Yumi and our father." Her voice suddenly darkened and her eyes glazed over, as if going back in time. "Our mother was non-existent…I'm sure the bastard killed her for not producing a boy…but anyways…He would always say 'If you can't take the pain, Rei, you don't deserve to live.' He would treat us like shit, kick us around, torture us, and in his mind…he was bettering us." Her jaw clenched and eyes dropped from the table she was so focused on. "I would take it, take all of it, and not know what to do. In his eyes…I was failure. Couldn't cook, clean, couldn't do anything a woman should. My sister, she would perform all the chores diligently because she couldn't handle his beatings. It was hell."

"You father was scum," a curt voice cut her off. "We get it, no start getting to the point."

"Hiei…" Kurama warned softly, shooting his comrade a curt look.

Hiei turned to the window and gave a small "hn" in response.

Dismissively waving her hand, a small chuckle left the girl's mouth. "No, it's fine. Point being, he had a small group of comrades I guess you would call them. Never knew what they did or anything, but if something went wrong, we got the short end of the stick. One day, it was worse than ever and I knew we had to get out, for Yumi's sake. I gathered some stuff while he was out, took my sister, and his prized sword and left." Rei paused for a moment and shifted her weight to another foot.

"The Zetsumei…" Koenma muttered, staring intently at the female in front of him.

"Bingo. It's been passed down from male to male for centuries in the Kurodo family and it was his prized possession. So I took it; the only thing, aside from his own pathetic life, that he ever valued."

"So…" Yusuke scratched his head awkwardly. "How do you use it…since you're a chick and all?"

Rei shook her head and fingered the hole in her pocket. "I never said you had to be a male to use it." She stated blatantly. "You need to be of the Kurodo blood line, it responds to that, not your gender."

"But you are a Nishimori, are you not?" Kurama prodded, perplexed at the information she revealed.

"Getting there." Getting aggravated from standing, Rei dropped to the floor and crossed her legs Indian style, dropping the mask in between them. "We wandered…and wandered…hiding and running. The idea seemed great," A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "It was anything but. Nobody steals from him…nor did anyone ever escape him…alive. Neither of us knew how to defend ourselves, but I was more capable then my sister. The laws of the Makai went men get respect, women don't. She was not fit to be fighter, but I thought I should learn."

"So you chose the easy way out."

Rei shot a look to the demon at the window sill. "No." She barked. Voice hard and emotionless. "I did what was best for my little sister, you should know about that."

A silence washed over the room. When Hiei did not respond she continued, not bothering to look at anybody. It was the first time she spoke about her past, and so far back. "I cut my hair, spoke less and in a lower voice. Sounds like a stupid idea, but at such a young age, I just passed for an androgynous looking boy. We walked and walked until we stumbled into a demon lord's territory and with our luck, into him, actually."

"Lord Aoi Nishimori." Kurama mumbled.

"Yes. In short, he felt bad. His wife passed away, never bore any children, and with age he was getting soft. So I renamed myself Ruki and he took us in as his new daughter and son."

"What, he didn't notice the…" Kuwabara stuck his hands in front of his chest and motioned at the chest. "…when you got older?"

"Idiot…"

Rei looked up and furrowed her eyebrows at his expressions. "I hid it, not there was ever much to hide…" She mumbled the last part lowly and continued. "The older I got, the harder it was, so during a training match I feigned an injury to the face and I have been covering it ever since."

Koenma stared intently at the girl in front of him and began to wonder. _How could a girl like that…turn in to such a ruthless killer…_" He never asked for you take it off?"

"Of course he, but I refused, told him I couldn't stand the sight of the scar. He was complaisant enough, whatever kept my sister and I happy. Plus, I was the only technical heir to his throne."

"Is that how you got the scar?" Kuwabara mentioned softly.

Rei's hand shot up to her face and consciously shifted her bangs to cover the scar. "No." Quickly she shifted her gaze off the orange haired human. "Eventually," she started, feeling an intense gaze burning into her back. "Aoi passed away. He was old, sick, and in no condition to rule, so I took over. He spent decades training me, I was the son he never had, so taking over was no problem. He was the father my sister and I never got, hence why I took his surname."

"For the next few centuries…" Koenma muttered, adding up the time in his head.

"Decades, centuries, how old are you!" Yusuke interjected, flailing his arms around.

"Demons age differently than your kind, detective…" Hiei muttered, listening intently to the female in the center. His eyes stayed on her as she spoke, watching her face, movement and every twitch in her body. He watched her get more uncomfortable the more she spoke.

"Years passed…I was Lord Ruki and just that, my sister didn't like that. I was always gone, working, or training. She grew sad and lonely…I paid no mind to it though, ruling was my only concern. Making a reputation, keeping it, I made sure I was at the top."

Hiei narrowed his eyes as she spoke. Carefully eyeing the way she was fiddling with the mask in between her legs. "She eventually found herself a mate," she continued, speaking softly. "Some peasant in the village; she loved him, he loved her. I couldn't be more overjoyed for her. They had a child, a boy, Ulrich. I wanted to train him, make him my right hand, so he could eventually take over for me. You see, I could not trust anyone, and he would have been perfect, but my father found us. He always found what he wanted."

**I know, I know, I'm an asshole, but it's pretty late, I still have to study and if I don't let this out in parts now, it will never get done. Promise, almost done with her story and the plot line will progress. Just I needed some kind of story behind her, and I simple characters, so…yeah. Don't worry, just one more chapter of her talking. You have all the right you want to yell at me for my incompetence. I deserve it. I would say the next chapter will be out tomorrow, but I have a tendency to not let it out when I promise, so no promises. Sorry guys :( Don't hate m too much for this rubbish. **


	9. Nine

**Extremely long time, I know I know. Every time I make a promise to let one out soon, something happens and well it turns into months. I'd like to say I'm working on trying to increase my speed…but…I don't know. Sometime sit turns to two in one night an dthen it's one every three months. I'm really sorry guys. Well here it is, to whom ever still reads my crap. Review if you want, it's nice to hear from you guys, like it, don't like, should I fix something…aside from the speed I publish at. Wow, sorry for the rambling…as always. **

**Oh, pardon me for the typos. I gave up :( **

"My men and I came home from a trip to find the village and our castle in carnage…blood…bodies…it was death everywhere." Rei paused for a moment to keep her voice calm. "I first found my sister's mate's body…as I progressed I found my sister, barely alive and bloodied. She told me to find Ulrich and get him to safety…"

"So you just left your sister to die?" Kuwabara shouted, eyes narrowing.

"What do you take me for!" She growled, eyes glowing menacingly. "I would never leave my own sister behind. I picked up her body and began looking for my nephew, we found him hiding in one of the rooms in the far end of the castle…when I went to get him there was an explosion…" Rei's voice began to waver and she paused to take a shaky breath. For a slight moment her mind went back to that fateful night, the way her sister's body hung off her shoulders, blood soaking through both their clothes and she couldn't do anything about it. Biting her lip, she looked at her hands and avoided all eye contact with the other five people in the room. "I lost her in the debris…I took my nephew and ran. I found one of my men, told him to take Ulrich and run away somewhere safe…My sister and her son were my life. If I could go back and trade places with her…I would do it in a second. The world needs beings like her, kind, gentle, it has enough of my kind. " Not a word was uttered.

"And did you ever see him again?" The fox-demon asked voice laced with concern and sympathy.

"I never came back for him, if that's what you mean." Rei shifted her position, squared her shoulders, and composed herself. "It's better for him not to remember. Long story short, the cause was my father. We fought. I lost. He took his sword and with the blade that served me for so many years…he gave me this." She softly ran her hand down the scar on her face. "I was left to die in the chaos and destruction of my own people. I didn't know what to do, I went crazy. I woke up, lord only knows after how long, with an insatiable rage and thirst for blood. I spent the rest of the time doing petty thefts and getting into fights, making a name for myself in the underground of the Makai, which led to the whole…assassin business. Before, when Lord Aoi was alive and in charge, I caused trouble, a whole lot of it." A small smile graced her features as old memories flooded back. "I challenged anyone, anything, and fought till death. I did what I wanted and acted any way I pleased. That was the mentality I reverted back to after my sister's death, except this time I was angry and craved revenge."

"But I'm not a senseless killer; I never was and never will be. Back when I was reckless, I wanted a challenge, a good fight that never came, until my father. After him, I kept looking and challenging. I never forced anyone into anything. Just like when I became an assassin, I got rid of my targets and never took any casualties unless it was dire."

"So what," Yusuke piped in, at this point sitting in the chair right next to her. "You just forgot about your father?"

Rei shook her head, "Of course not, he was always on my mind, but I got caught up in the whole bounty hunting business. It became a source of training and a way to get my mind off my dead sister. And for once," she paused, smiling softly. "It felt wonderful not being responsible for anybody but myself. There were no consequences for my actions… I checked up on Ulrich every once and a while, he was happy, growing up normally, for a demon that is, and I didn't dare to ruin that for him. I couldn't."

Koenma narrowed his eyes at the demon sitting on the floor; he observed her every move and breath. Her pale hands clutched to the mask like a life source while her yellow eyes scanned the walls and ceiling absent mindedly. "What led you here…and us."

"Simple," she mumbled. "Koenma, how long ago did you find my sword?"

The Spirit Prince sat in silence tapping his chin. "By the time line you have given us, a little after you village was destroyed."

"You're making no sense!" The black-haired teenager yelled, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Why not get your 'prized' sword sooner. Why wait for so long!"

"I told you," Rei growled, losing her patience. "I lost track of time. When you have centuries to kill, time works differently. It took me decades to get my mind straight. You try losing your only family to your bastard of a father, detective, and then tell me how you feel." A tense silence followed with Rei's cold, venomous voice ringing in everyone's ears.

"I apologize," She muttered, eyes dropping to the floor. "That was uncalled for." Not looking to see the detective's response she continued. "What I am guessing he didn't know and what I found out by complete accident, was the Zetsumei not only responds to the Kurodo chi, but it has the ability to bond to its owner by blood and the only way the bond is broken is if the owner dies."

"Your dad never knew?" Questioned Kuwabara.

"I guess not, since it bonded to me while he is alive. As strong and cunning as he may be, he is an impatient man. He killed his own father to receive the sword." Rei paused, remembered the gruesome details he used when she was a child. The way her grandfather's head rolled down the kitchen floor and her grandmother screamed in terror as he chased after her next. "I'm assuming by the time he tried to use it with his powers, it rejected him. He got angry and threw it in a fit of rage; which is where you come along." She sent a curt glance to Koenma and continued. "Your people found it and put it in the vaults. By the time the information leaked back to me, I was snapped back to reality. Everybody knows Ruki, but nobody ever knew Rei; so why not? I hid my chi and came to you as a lowly little demon girl, looking for a job. Don't I look harmless, Koenma sir?" A wicked smile crept up the short demon's face.

"Hardly," Koenma stated, pursing his lips. "You stayed with us for a while, why?"

This earned a shrug from the black haired girl on the floor. "I meant to leave much earlier. First I spent the time learning your castle. The security, the vaults, and the holes in them, which you might want to tweak up, by the way." This earned a scoff from Hiei and a look from Koenma. "I got accustomed to this; it was relaxing not having to deal with demons or humans. When I finally decided to go through with the theft, the sword was already stolen."

"So it wasn't you?"

"Well no shit!" Rei snapped, glaring at Yusuke and Kuwabara's direction. Taking a sigh, she calmed herself. "I waited around for a little bit, kept up the charade and soon enough, I received a contact telling me if I wanted the Zetsumei, 4 targets needed to be eliminated. I didn't trust that they had my sword and if they did, it arose my suspicion because nobody knew where I disappeared, let alone the human world and spirit world. I got curious. The 4 targets were disposed of and a fifth was added: Hiei."

"But why hire you to kill humans?" Kurama implored, genuinely confused.

"Honestly, I don't know." She stared blankly at the red haired youkai. "But my policy is to never question, and it was my own fault for where I am right now."

"Policy for killing." Scoffed Yusuke. "…doesn't make much sense."

"Maybe not for you," Rei offered, shifting her gaze. "But it does for me. The less I know, the less I care."

"Sound stupid." Grunted the Jagan eye wielder.

Snapping her head to the other side, golden eyes met red ones. "No one asked you, thief."

"Cut it out pipsqueaks!" Yusuke interjected. "So why the shrimp?"

"To get me caught, no doubt." There was no trace of emotions in her voice. No feeling of betrayal, anger, or anything. "The Zetsumei has no use for anybody except me…unless they want a plain hunk of metal."

"You fell for a trap, assassin." Scoffed Hiei. "How pathetic."

"Hiei…"warned Kurama.

"I gave myself in." She stated plainly, not even remotely bothered by his attacks at her anymore. "I sat there and I waited until all of you showed up. Don't you think I could have escaped thirty times over by now? I wanted to get caught."

"Which is what?" Kuwabara piped in in a suspicious tone. Black eyes staring intently at the demon releasing no energy.

"At that point, you were all aware of my existence. If I am to go through with my plans, having the five of you on my ass would be severely inconvenient."

"So instead of running and hiding, you want to make a deal, is that right?"

Rei eyes the knowing fox and sent him a small smile. "When are you wrong, Youko? But yes. Putting me aside, we are after the same person. Koenma, you are fully aware Saito isn't capable of calling all the shots."

The toddler prince took a deep breath. "For a moment I thought you gave yourself in from the kindness of your heart." Earning a small laugh Koenma shook his head. "Of course he isn't."

"You flatter me, but the man behind the plan, behind the theft of the sword, is Kurodo Hiro."

A small silence followed her statement. "Why should we help you kill him?" Yusuke asked, no sure of the demon's true intentions.

"Help me?" She scoffed. "I don't need anyone's help. I'm telling you so I do you all a favor and get you off my asses when I have to fight. He is your target regardless. Hiro put a hit on one of your detectives, he stole from you vaults…or do you overlook that Prince?" A cold stare was directed towards the Prince of Spirit World, beckoning him to disagree.

"She has a point detective, but what makes you think we want your help?" Hiei pointed out.

Ignoring the blatant attack on her ability, Rei turned her face to Koenma. "I can hel you get him and afterwards, you are free to do with me as you please. Death sentence, rotting in jail for the rest of eternity, I could care less, just let me get him." She pleaded. "You know nothing of his abilities, his power or anything. The only information you have is that he is a very influential figure in the undergrounds of the Makai. Nothing ever traces back to him. It is my fault he is still alive and my fault he is angry. I never have to resort to begging…but I am giving you my life."

"When will you ever get the opportunity to put away the Silent Assassin? I will even put up with the fact that your only convictions are me crossing over the Makai barrier and attempting murder on your detective."

Koenma sat in silence debating with the thoughts in his head. Seconds seemed like minutes until Yusuke broke the silence.

"Baby Breath?"

"Put on your mask." The prince finally stated, with no trace of emotions on his face. "Hiei, Kurama, put the spirit cuffs back on her and lead her back to the Spirit Jail. When I decide what to do with her, we will send her up for sentencing." He nodded towards Hiei and Kurama. "When you are done come back up."

Rei finished putting the mask on and extended her arms. "Kurama, do the honors. Don't know why you need the precautions Koenma, I'm happy to comply."

Slightly smiling, the prince shook his head in frustration. "Botan, call up Genkai please."

"Yes Koenma sir."

X.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The walk was silent as Kurama and Hiei escorted one of the most-wanted demons down to the holding cells.

"You're lying to us, onna." Hiei finally spoke up, his voice cold and emotionless.

Furrowing her eyebrows the masked demon stared intently at him. "Am I?" She questioned.

"Hiei…" Kurama chastised, "What he means, is that you seem to leave some information out."

"Like what?" She challenged, now staring at the kitsune.

"That is what we want to know, you are about to get sentenced, it would be beneficial for you not to leave anything out."

"I told you everything that was necessary." Rei fired back, getting annoyed. "I'm sure there are thing the two of you hide, am I wrong Hiei?"

"Hn."

"We are not in the position to get killed right now." Kurama continued, trying to coax the demon to share anything detrimental.

She merely shrugged and stopped with them next to an empty cell. "My funeral."

"Rei…"

Before walking in, she turned her head over her shoulder. "It's Ruki. Do not think because I told you who I am, puts us on friendly terms."

"My apologies, Ruki."

**Next is the sentencing and the story picks up from there. The hard part is out of the way…kind of. Thanks for reading! :D **


	10. Ten

**A/N: Don't own any of the yyh characters blah blah blah**

**But after over a year long hiatus on writing, I'm back, hopefully better than ever! This one's extra long so please enjoy. **

"Wake up demon." A voice grunted. The sound of the key unlocking the cell echoed throughout the dungeon. "The Prince is waiting for you."

Slowly the shadow apparition arose from her crouched state, failing to stretch her currently bound arms. Without a word she followed the guard through the dungeon, eyes focused straight ahead of her. The numerous possibilities of her sentence raced through her mind just like the numerous getaway plans she's been concocting if the prospect of an immediate death sentence was in her near future.

Yellow eyes narrowed at the guard walking ahead of her. His hands gripped his weapon tightly, knuckles white from the sheer pressure. Small drops of perspiration pooled at the corners of his temple while his eyes kept darting to the prisoner next to him.

"You're nervous." Rei drawled, her voice low and inhuman due to the metal mask covering her mouth. A small smirk made its way to her mouth and amusement was visible in her one eye.

The guard's body tensed at her remark, tightening his grasp around the weapon even more so than before.

"Do I scare you?" she continued after receiving no response. A deep, sinister amusement danced in the demon's eyes. She reveled in her ability to evoke such fear from a being even while handcuffed and caged like an animal.

He opened up the door, making sure to avoid any and all contact with the prisoner next to him. "Here…" He muttered; head low and jaw clenched.

"You called, Koenma?" She started, walking into the room that was now occupied by the usual company and a new presence she couldn't quite pinpoint or spot at the moment.

The blue haired grim reaper bounced up next to her, unlocking the hand cuffs at her wrists. "Well don't you seem bubbly?" The black haired girl muttered, unclipping the mask around her face. Simply shooting her a smile, Botan waved to the group, muttering something about forgetting to grab a thing.

Furrowing her eyes in confusion, she leaned forward attempting to see the papers on his desk, only to have Koenma shut them in front of her. Damn it, she thought, scanning the room and landing on the fire demon eyeing her. "Well, he's here, so when's my death date marked down?" Rei muttered, not breaking eye contact with the Jagan wielder.

"Actually," Koenma started, making her break her stare down to look at him. "Everybody, Hiei included, is in favor of this." He waved the closed folder in the air, smiling at the confused demon in front of him. "Listen up, Rei Kuroda, also known as Ruki Nishimori, is hereby sentenced to two months probation under the supervision of Master Genkai." The prince paused for a moment, to shuffle for something in his desk. "If passed, upon the completion of this probation, you are to serve a minimum of two years under Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi to repay the debts of your past. You are not to leave Japan or cross over to the Makai unless instructed by myself or Genkai. Furthermore, until it is deemed fit, you are to wear energy locking spirit cuffs."

"And if I refuse the cuffs?" she asked quickly, eyeing the toddler.

The Prince shrugged, "If you refuse the cuffs or fail any of the reviews, I will lock you away to rot the rest of your life in jail."

"Or we are forced to kill you, if need be." chimed in Kurama.

A snort escaped the demon's lips. "If 'we' includes him," she said, thumb directed at the now angered fire demon, "I think I'll be okay."

Hiei stepped forward, only to have Kurama's hand block his path. "I could gladly kill you now," he snarled.

"Oh and one more thing!" Koenma cut in, scratching his head. "Almost forgot, the terms of your probation are as followed: you are to live with and train under Genkai. She will assess you and report directly back to me. If you are in any sense at all dangerous to them, the human or Spirit World, I'm dragging you back here at the drop of a hat."

Rei's mouth dropped as the weight of her punishment just registered in her mind. Frustration was evident in her eyes as she realized how dumb of an idea it was to give herself in. "But.."

She wasn't given a second to retort as the sixth person she felt stepped out. "You are living with me in my temple." The pink haired psychic stared at the demon, daring her to argue otherwise. "I am Genkai and I have no patience for excuses. There is a room set up for you already and Koenma filled me in on everything." Rei's voice got caught in her throat. The infamous Genkai. "If you have any possessions you want to get, you can when we get back to the Human World. Otherwise you're rooted to me. Understand?"

"But…people…" She muttered, looking around the room for any way out. "Um…you, big one, come here and let me kill you!"

Kuwabara furrowed his eyebrows and pointed a thumb at himself, "Me?"

Rei nodded quickly and looked to the side as Botan came in carrying her sword. The shadow apparition's eyes grew big as she saw her weapon.

A small chuckle was heard from the three-eyed demon. "Don't bother Assassin, if he was that easy to dispose of, I would have done it a long time ago."

Yusuke's loud laugh covered the 'Hey!' from the irritated human next to him. "Face it Rei, you're stuck with us!" The detective came over, ruffling her hair in the process.

Swatting his hand away and deciding to let go of the fact that he called her by her real name, Rei eyed the smug looking fire demon. "Is death not even an option?" her shoulders slumped as a big sigh escaped her mouth.

"Why do you object so much? The fox demon asked, stepping forward from the wall he was leaning on.

"Yeah we can't be that bad!" Yusuke exclaimed next to her, pouting.

"Or are you hiding something from us!" Kuwabara exclaimed, chest out and inching toward the small girl. A chuckle escaped her mouth as she shook her head.

"I'm being serious!" He yelled, getting frustrated that she wasn't considering him as a threat.

This only caused the demon to laugh even more. "Sorry, but what's the worst you can do? Swing your sword at me until I get bored and decide to stand still?"

Kuwabara let out a loud groan and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Asshole demons…"

Shrugging her shoulders, a defeated sigh escaped from Rei's lips. "I guess you can say I prefer to work alone. There are fewer casualties to worry about nor do I have to deal with betrayal." A small silence filled the room. "You see me as a threat, but I see the same in every one of you."

"Don't flatter yourself." Hiei barked, stepping forward to make eye contact. "You wanted to help, here's your chance, but don't make this your pity party Kuroda."

Rei's body stood still as her eyes remained locked with his piercing red ones. Finally blinking, she turned toward Genkai and extended her arms forward. "Ready when you are."

"I trust you can wait until we get back to the temple,"Genkai started towards the door with Rei following behind.

"Catch you guys later," Botan yelled, walking after the two with the katana still in her hands.

"I'm surprised that she or the hag went for it." Yusuke laughed, scratching his head.

"Trust me, even dealing with you and the lummox is easier than the alternatives," Hiei spoke, back against the wall and voice bored.

"You're looking forward to her being with us, aren't you little buddy?" the dark haired detective chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't like to lose," he shrugged.

"You've got your creepy little eyes on her don't you shorty!" Kuwabara teased, "No need to hide it, everyone needs some love." He continued, not noticing the shorter demon's hand twitching near his sword.

"Kuwabara…" Kurama warned, amusement written all over his face, while Yusuke burst out laughing.

"I mean you can take her on creepy little dates, have a creepy black wedding, and then a few creepy little kids." He laughed, imagining the terrifying offspring of the two demons.

"Kuwabara," Kurama warned again as he watched Hiei unsheathe his sword silently.

"What?" The tall human asked, completely oblivious to the man he was mocking. "I think it's good the shrimp is developing a love interest."

"I am going to murder you," the voice was as sharp as the blade held against Kuwabara's neck.

The Prince of Spirit World sighed as he stamped away. _If this ends badly, father is going to kill me…_

X.X.X.X

"You will be up every morning at the crack of dawn." Genkai explained as she gave Rei the rundown of the compound.

She briefly met with the ice apparition, Yukina, but couldn't stay long enough to chat. Her eyes seemed oddly familiar, but the feeling was brushed away when Genkai decided to start the tour.

"I'll run you to the ground with drills, and by the end of the session, you can do as you please," The old woman let out a low chuckle, "if you have any energy left."

They continued to the edge of the woods at the back of the grounds, walking towards the clearing that may as well have been a cemetery.

"Why did you agree to this?" The amber eyed demon asked, perplexed at the old woman's trust.

"You are not a mindless killer." The psychic stated curtly, keeping her pace. "I heard your story; you are not the first to do anything for strength. We've both done questionable things and took paths that should be avoided…and we both learned from it."

She still didn't get an answer to her question but decided against prying any further. The dark haired girl trailed behind, getting herself ready for a painful two months.

X.X.X.

The buzzing of electrical generators, low humming of cars and miscellaneous vagabonds took away from what should be a silent night. A lone figure stomped along the street, hands deep in the pockets of a borrowed black hoodie that seemed much to long for her small stature.

"Dumb humans…Dumb demons…" muttered a low feminine voice. The hood covered any trace of the face under it aside from the mess of black hair sticking out from the side. "Stupid Spirit World…Stupid toddler…" the low voice continued, sulking in her own self-pity. The shadow demon cursed under her breath, kicking a stray bottle cap off the side of the street. "Two month probation period…this is bullshit."

A whole month of Genkai's training passed and her body felt like it has been through hell and back. The practice and strength were well worth the pain in her book; however, not being able to use her powers seemed to work against her. Her energy was scratching at her core, begging to be let out, yet she could do nothing about it. Rei's frustration stemmed from how truly out of shape she was, but she was more than grateful for being allowed out. A scoff escaped her lips at the irony of the situation, the great Silent Assassin, caged like an animal.

Taking a pause, Rei took a long deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Hello, there." She muttered, a smile playing at her lips. Demon was in the air and the shadow apparition was itching for a fight.

A small chuckle escaped her lips, "Maybe I'll get brownie points from Koenma for getting a rogue."

She felt for her katana or any weapon for that matter, but came up short. Cursing her own carelessness, the girl shrugged her shoulders. _I like the challenge_. Orientating herself in the direction of the demon she raced down the empty streets, adrenaline and excitement rushing through her body.

Making a left at an abandoned alleyway a sharp, blood-curdling screech caught her attention. The dark-haired apparition stood at the end of the alley looking at the large back of a purple demon. His muscles bulged as he stood leaning against something in the corner. Rei's eyes narrowed, glowing in the pale moonlight.

"Now what do we have here?" She snarled, teeth barred at the behemoth in front of her.

The large demon turned his head in Rei's direction, red eyes zeroing in on the intruder of his meal. From behind the mass of purple sat a frail looking girl, terrified to no end. Her blonde hair disheveled, pale dress torn, and eyes wide in horror.

The demon gazed at the short girl and laughed while turning back to his meal. "One moment sweetie," his chuckle echoing in the alley, "let me finish up here first." His hand extended towards the blonde on the floor.

"DON'T TOUCH ME, FREAK!" She screamed, slapping his arm away from her face.

The dark-haired demon chuckled at the human's resilience. While her words screamed defiance, her trembling body told otherwise.

"Run! He's not normal!" she managed to get out before her attacker let out an angry growl and threw her against the brick wall. The blonde's body dropped like a rag doll to the floor, trembling in an attempt to get up.

_She can see him…_ Rei thought in surprise. _There's something you don't see everyday _

"Bitch…" The demon mumbled, inching towards the almost limp body sprawled on the floor.

Realizing that there is only so much damage the human body can take, Rei began walking forward. "I don't like being ignored…"she started, arms dropping to her sides.

"I said I would get to you!" he growled, turning his back to the blonde completely.

The amber-eyed girl arched an eyebrow at the purple demon. "Too bad, I have no patience." She stopped a few feet in front of him, face calm and emotionless.

A loud laugh echoed through the alleyway. "That's cute little girl, but the playground's that way" He laughed, pointing behind Rei.

Rolling her eyes, the demon sighed. "Like I haven't heard that one before." She muttered. In mere seconds she was in front of the red eyed demon, fist heading straight for his face.

His body was knocked straight into the wall behind him. A groan was heard and he stumbled back up. "Guess I'll have my appetizer first!" he snarled running straight at Rei.

X.X.X

The Prince of Spirit World sat at his desk, fingers laced under his chin, eyeing a large stack of papers in front of him. As he reached to take a look at the documents the sound of the door opening and closing made him pause for a moment. "Come in," he responded sarcastically, not even looking up.

"Is there something you need, Koenma?" A bored voice echoed from the far side of the room.

The toddler's gaze shifted to his company. "I have a favor to ask of you," When he received no response he continued. "Normally I'd ask Yusuke but I felt this was more of your expertise." The fire demon's eyes shifted to the small ruler, hands buried in his pockets. "And I'd prefer if we kept this between us, for now."

"And what do I get out of this?"

A long sigh was heard from the ruler. "Exterminate her if circumstances deem it necessary."

X.X.X

A slight whimper left her mouth as the blonde girl struggled to lift her body. Her head was pounding and the whole alley seemed to be spinning around her. Squinting her eyes, she tried to focus in on the two people in the alley. Blinking through the head pain and spinning, she finally managed to get a decent view of the two in front of her. Her assailant, the large purple, red eyed monster moved away from her and towards the small girl instead. _What is she doing_, she thought, _He's going to kill her_. But no words could leave her mouth. The warnings, the screams, they all got stuck in her throat and came out as a whimper.

A loud laugh came from the purple monster, "That's cute little girl, but the playground's that way," he chuckled, pointing behind the short female.

_Why isn't she scared?_ the human thought, staring at the new victim. The moonlight cast a demonic glow on the black haired girl, the one visible eye shining yellow. Her long black pony tail shifted in the wind and her eye narrowed at the monster.

She muttered something inaudible and suddenly disappeared. _What?_ The blonde searched the small area for the short girl with the yellow eyes. _Am I going crazy?_ Suddenly the purple man was thrown into the adjacent wall while the pale girl stood where he once did. The girl's eyes widened at the sight before her, _How…?_

As the demon groaned and stumbled up she saw his red eyes ignite with anger. "Guess I'll have my appetizer first," he snarled running straight at the black haired girl.

The blonde watched in amazement as she dodged the attack, kicking him straight in the jaw. "Too slow," she muttered, voice bored and unamused.

She seemed to be toying with him. He ran at her once more, quicker this time, but missed the hit again. Lilac eyes watched the female. She seemed to be searching, scanning the area while avoiding every single blow he made. Her body moved fluidly across the small space, not even breaking a sweat.

The demon stopped, a deep growl came from him. "I didn't think you'd be such a nuisance." He muttered. "Now you'll see the true power of the mighty Doku!"

Sitting up to get a better view, not the smartest idea in this situation, the blonde girl felt a chill run down her spine. The monster Doku suddenly seemed to be emitting a pale purple glow, freezing the blood running through her body, yet the small girl seemed unfazed.

"Ready to die!" He yelled, clenching his fists in front of him.

She eyed her possible hero and her voice was void of any emotion. "Tch, hardly," was the only response that was heard.

"Brat…I've seen flies bigger than you, girl!" He spat raising his hand parallel to the ground.

The blonde watched amber eyes zero in on something near her. A deep sigh left her lips, "Want to hurry this up then, _Daiko_?"

"Bitch, dodge this!" He yelled.

A gasp left the injured girl's mouth as he started shooting what looked like his nails at the dark haired female. An evil laugh reverberated against the walls as he shot more and more. His opponent however dodged them all with ease, flitting through the small space.

X.X.X

"Koenma-sama…" A soft voice broke him from his thoughts. Pale eyes stared him down with worry. "Do you think this is a good idea? Rei has no spirit energy right now, sir. What if the girl dies?"

The Prince shook his head, "Don't worry, it won't come to that."

"Why not just tell her? You know Rei would do it, no questions." Botan spoke, not comprehending the Prince's motives.

Koenma shook his head, face devoid of any emotion. "I want to see if she is capable of saving a life, without it being an order."

X.X.X

Frustrated with the lack of spirit energy, Rei dodged all the darts, flitting off the side of the walls. She needed to get a makeshift weapon, quick. It's a matter of time before he gets her.

"Is that all you can do girl? Run?" He laughed, shooting an insane wave of darts around the whole area.

In the midst of trying to get his opponent a few sets of darts were sent straight at the human girl in the corner. Noting the trajectory there was something in the yellow eyed demon that made her heart stop completely. _Why is she still here! _She growled, shifting her direction completely.

The girl sat motionless, mouth gaping open and eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. Rei made a straight beeline towards the female, knocking her out of the way just in the nick of time. Within mere moments of making contact with the girl a searing pain shot up from her calf all the way up her thigh. "Fuck," she muttered taking a deep breath. Shooting a long stare at the girl lying petrified on the side, Rei stood up; taking note at how deep the darts were embedded in her skin. _That's going to require some effort…_

Doku smirked as the blood surrounded her leg. "Can't run any more girlie"

"Whoops," she muttered, straightening up while clutching to a large chunk of stray glass. "Play time's over, big boy."

Voice stoic and dark, the yellow eyed demon made her way towards her opponent. Using the last burst of energy to reappear at the demon's shoulder, Rei leaned in to whisper, "I don't leave survivors."

Much more difficult than with a katana, she jammed the glass straight across his neck, letting the blood gush out. Amidst his dying screams the demon grabbed a hold of her already injured leg and sent five more nail darts into her thigh.

A sharp hiss left her mouth as Rei jumped off, grabbing her leg in agony as it made contact with the ground. Deciding to bear it through until she got back to Genkai's compound, the demon limped away from the alley, completely neglecting the human girl gaping in the corner. _She's alive…the rest is not my job_, she thought, holding in the pain as warm blood oozed down her leg leaving a crimson trail behind her.

A low shuffle, following by the sound of stumbling legs was heard behind her. "Hey!" Yelled a soft, feminine voice "Wait up!"

Taking a deep breath and letting out a low sigh of aggravation the short demon ignored the voice and continued to trudge forward. The soft yells continued, getting closer and closer to the wounded creature. "Should have let him eat her…" she muttered, hoping the girl would get the hint.

A soft, cold hand made contact with Rei's wrist. "…guess not" she breathed, stiffening at the contact.

"Hey…" the offender breathed, trying to catch her breath and steady herself. "For an injured person, you walk pretty damn fast!" the voice laughed.

Rei's body went still as the girl still had her hand clasped around the demon's wrist. "Let go." She started, pausing at the end of every syllable. "**NOW**", the last word coming out as more of a snarl than anything else.

The opposing hand became rigid at the command but slowly let go. Feeling the presence leave her wrist, Rei continued forward leaving a bewildered girl standing behind her in the middle of the street. Her silence only lasted 5 steps until a body hopped in front of her, blocking the path.

Looking up, Rei came face to face with her so-called damsel in distress. Towering a decent couple of inches over her shorter form, the girl looked about the same age as the detective. Aside from the disheveled curly blonde hair and dirtied dress, the human was very endearing. Cheeks tinged pink from the fear or the cold, possibly both, full lips parted trying to regain her breath, and large, innocent, lilac eyes bore straight in Rei's narrowed ones. The demon stood still, fists clenched at her sides from the searing pain and annoyance.

"…Well?" Rei questioned, eyebrow raised.

The girl's wide eyes looked straight into Rei's, searching for any form of an answer. "Do…I call the… police?" she finally spoke, hands fidgeting in front of her.

Rolling her eyes the former assassin snorted, "Do whatever you please" she said, shoving past the human.

"Just tell me what I saw!" the blonde yelled after her, keeping pace with the surprisingly quick female.

A groan was the only response she heard from her nameless hero. "He was purple…"The blonde continued "…that isn't normal…"

A sign of exasperation was Rei's only response. Stopping dead in her tracks, Rei turned to face the blonde who was now staring at her. The demon clenched and unclenched her knuckles a few times , observing the still figure in front of her. A short silence encased the two girls, amber eyes squinting in deep thought. For what seemed like an eternity a low hiss finally escaped from the short girl's mouth. "Shut up" she snapped, her face now expressing only one emotion: annoyance. "Just shut up," she repeated, jaw tight and eyes narrowed. "…before I make you." Voice low and teeth gritted.

The blonde stood still, taken aback by the sudden hostility. She watched her enigmatic hero begin to limp away from her but intercepted the demon yet again.

"Please…" she begged, eyes searching for some help from the small female. "I know you saw what I saw…he was purple!"

Sidestepping the girl, Rei shook her head, infuriated from the night's events. This was not her job. Babysitting some spiritually aware human was never in her job description. "Just go home." She muttered, hoping to get to Genkai's compound before her leg completely gave out. Looking down the blood flow seemed to slow down, however the pain only intensified.

"He isn't the first one…" The blonde muttered, following Rei down the street. "I know I'm not crazy…"

"Positive?"

Footsteps stopped and a small part of the demon hoped the girl would go home. Rei reasoned to herself that this girl was not her priority. The demon was eliminated, the girl was saved. Humans were of no concern to her, it was her job to protect them but the rest was up to those who cared.

Unfortunately fate had other plans for the convict. As if waking from her stupor the human girl jogged after her hero, flats echoing through the empty streets. Grinding her teeth in frustration, Rei shoved her hands in her pockets to restrain herself from ripping this girl to shreds then and there.

"Fuck off." She barked, limping away quicker.

"Not until you tell me what I saw!" The human remarked, chest puffed up with pride and determination gleaming in her eyes.

An animalistic snarl left the previous lord's lips as her hand shot up to grab the girl's throat. "I will kill you right now if you don't turn your ass around and go home."

The blonde's eyes widened, staring straight at her supposed hero. Going against her instincts to run the human stood her ground. "You won't kill me." She whispered, voice trembling "I'm not scared…"

Letting go of her throat Rei came closer to the girl, a slight smirk tugging at the side of her lips. "Really…" she sneered. She brought her hand up to shift her bangs, snorting as the girl flinched in response. "I have no problem detaching that pretty little head of yours from the rest of your body." She finally spoke, venom and sincerity dripping from every word.

The human's façade of defiance faltered when lilac eyes came in contact with Rei's wolf like stare. Fear rippled through the girl's body when she realized her hero may not be as heroic as she thought. Voice caught in her throat the girl's lips began to tremble. Her hero was no combat savvy girl, there was something else in her eyes, something that made the girl's blood freeze in her veins.

The shadow apparition smiled devilishly when she caught the realization dawning on the human. "Are you willing to bet your life to see if I'm bluffing?"

A silence encased the two with only sound being the low hum of cars driving in the distance. Rei narrowed her eyes in hopes of that this girl would just get the damn hint and go home. The former assassin grunted in frustration and kept walking.

"Cheiko…" the girl stated from behind Rei, relieved that nothing escalated. Going against her better judgment she stepped forward following the dark haired girl yet again. Though her brain told her otherwise, her guts knew this girl might be her only chance to find out what is wrong. Why she can see things others can't.

"What?" Rei snapped, regretting her words the moment they left her mouth. _Can't keep your mouth shut, can you Rei?_

"My name…Mizushima Cheiko." The girl kept a small distance between them, for safety, she reasoned.

"I don't care."

"It means wisdom, you know," she continued, eyes glued to the black of the apparition's head in hopes to keep some conversation flowing.

To her dismay the only response was a scoff followed by a low hiss in what might have been pain.

"You're injured…" Cheiko spoke, making Rei roll her eyes.

"Well aren't you the observant one," she remarked, grinding her teeth in pain.

The duo continued forward, Rei limping ahead while Cheiko following behind her, getting closer and closer.

"The hospital isn't too far, I could take you there." The blonde stated, ridden with guilt at the current predicament.

Choosing not to respond Rei veered left, off the main streets towards Genkai's compound. Counting the seconds until she could take the damn nails out, she willed herself to keep marching forward.

"I'm serious!" She heard Cheiko ramble on behind her. "At least let me help you, it's my fault that you're injured so-"

She was cut off by Rei, her eyes glaring daggers. "It was, so shut up and fuck off."

Cheiko's face puffed up like a child whose mother just scolded her. A small silence followed the comment, bringing a small source of relief to the pained apparition.

"You don't have many friends, do you?" the blonde finally muttered, voice low and slightly detached.

Rei chuckled at the comment, "Says the girl following a stranger at 3 in the morning."

Taken aback by the comment as well as intrigued, the human girl said nothing, making sure to keep her nameless hero in sight as they headed towards the woods.

Realizing what she did, Rei's smile dropped and was replaced with her usual emotionless mask. However, the gesture was not lost on the blonde.

A small sigh left Cheiko, "I just want answers…"

The only response that was given was the shaking of her head. _It isn't my job to introduce her to my world_

"So where are we going?" Cheiko continued obliviously, finally understanding to drop the injury subject.

"**We** aren't going anywhere." Barked Rei, nerves on edge again.

"He had horn!" Cheiko continued from before. "His skin was purple!" She exclaimed, trying to get even a smidge of an explanation.

Her statements were only met with silence as Rei continued, trying to remember when the walk to Genkai's turned so agonizingly long.

"What are you…?" The human finally asked, voice hesitant and much fainter than before. Silence washed over the two, with only the sound of footsteps and leaves crunching under their feet. The lack of a response gave the girl an ounce of courage to continue her questioning. "I hope that doesn't come of offense, because you are the only reason I am alive…but something about you just doesn't add up." Once again, no response. "Something…I don't know what, isn't right about you."

"Annoyance," Rei muttered, "with a hint of murderous intent." Once again, she regretted even opening her mouth, but something about this girl just had her responding, which angered the demon even more so. In hopes of getting to her destination quicker the dark haired girl stomped forward, sending a shooting pain up her thigh.

"Stomping like that won't alleviate you injury…" Cheiko stated after hearing a hiss from the dark haired girl. Pausing to get a response and when none was given, she continued. "I'm sorry for that…truly…I am forever in debt to you…can I at least bandage it before you get home?"

Ignoring the girl's requests and apologies, Rei marched forward.

"What is your name?"

Yet again, no response.

"_Alrighty _…but thank you." She mumbled, red cheeks hidden in the dark. "And…" she laughed, as if remembering some joke, "I'm really happy you saved me…" She trailed slowly behind the demon who seemed to be getting farther and farther for her. "I feel like we are going to be really good friends." Her laugh got a little louder, too loud for Rei's liking. "Don't know why…but we will!"

The amber eyed girl cringed at the term and even more so at the idea of being anything with a human but bit her tongue and shook her head at old memories of similar caliber arising. _No_…she thought _Not again_.

The girl's voice got distant and Rei didn't even notice herself beginning to halt.

"_You're no regular guard or soldier," A voice followed her through the castle hallways. "I'm not dumb" it continued behind her. "I order you to stop walking!"_

_Rei stopped,__back facing the demon speaking to her. She stood still, eyes closed and body stiff. _

"_Thank you…for protecting me…" The deep voice started, barely a foot behind her now. Letting out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding; the warm air slowly escaped through the pores of her cloth mask. "I know my father told you too, it's your job after all…"he rambled softly, hand on her shoulder. Even through the thick cloth she felt the warmth of his hand. "but, thank you. If not for your quick wit and speed, I would have been dead." He chuckled. "I think everybody but my father knows I'm not much of a fighter."_

_The shadow apparition felt the heat of his hand spreading through her whole body. Clearing her throat she whispered, "You should go to sleep Master Ichigo."_

"_Ruki…" He started, but paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Please, turn around."_

_Rei closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before slowly turning to face Lord Aoi's son. She kept her head down and eyes on the ground, avoiding any eye contact. _

"_Why do you keep the mask on?" He asked, staring straight at the 'man' avoiding his eyes. "We are in a safe place."_

_Clenching her jaw she looked up, eyes now hardened and narrow. Cold amber eyes met with warm, chestnut ones. For somebody whose father was a stone cold ruler, his son was not cut out for the job to take over. "I'd advise you to go back to your room." She finally muttered voice low and firm. _

_No response came from the young lord, his eyes bore in to hers, searching for an answer. The moon shone in pale light from the hallway window, ironically casting an angelic glow on the demon in front of her. His hand moved up, fixing the mess of brown hair on his head. In the mere moments of silence, Rei felt her voice catch in her throat at the man in front of her. Shaking her head of such thoughts, especially of the Lord's son, she blamed it on the long day that passed. _

"_If I were to command you to take off the mask, would you?" He finally spoke, a small smirk playing at his lips. The remark elicited no emotion or response from the being in front of him. "…or what if I spoke to my father about a certain red-haired servant? She has been dropping a few plates too many."_

_Forgetting all proper responses or reactions in the presence of the Lord's son, Rei's hand shot forward, pinning the man to the stone wall behind him. "You wouldn't dare!" She growled voice low and venomous. However the moment she spoke, she wished she could take her words back. Amidst the anger and primal need to protect her sister she forgot to mask her voice. Her hands loosened and body stiffened. _

_The brown haired demon suddenly let out a loud, bark-like laugh. "A girl?" He chuckled, bringing his hand to her chin. "I apologize…__**Ruki**__…truly; it was my curiosity that got the best of me. But no matter, your secret is safe with me."_

_He side-stepped the bewildered shadow apparition and began to walk to his quarters. "I promise both you and your sister are safe." He grinned. "Sleep well…Ruki…" _

_The dark-haired girl stood at the side of the hallway, hands glued to the wall in front of her and head bowed. "Fuck"_

Shaking her head off any thoughts of the past she moved forward, gritting her teeth at the pain. _Now is not the time Rei, get a hold of yourself._ She thought, mind still thinking back to the young Lord. The silence and darkness of the forest comforted her. Darkness, literal and metaphorical, always had a way of following her. What used to give her nightmares and terrors as a child soon turned to her main source of comfort, her only friend, the one thing in the world that would never leave her. The darkness spoke to Rei, enticed her and kept her alive.

Midway in her thoughts the shadow apparition paused, taking note of the silence. _Silence_. "Shit!" she burst out, head turning back and forth. The girl was gone. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and searched for the girl's miniscule spirit energy. Nothing.

A small part of her wanted to find the girl, to make sure she was okay, but shook herself of the thoughts. _Not my problem_. Hands deep in her pockets, the demon continued forward. A month with the detectives did not unlock some deep, hidden love for human kind. It did not make her a better more moral person. Rei Kuroda was not and never will be a saint. She had her own agendas, her own rules, and her own morals. Saving some concussed human girl who decided to follow a stranger into the forest was not on Rei's to-do list.

Tired, pained, and irate, Rei finally walked into the compound, thankful Master Genkai was nowhere in sight. Making her way through the darkness she entered her room and hit the light switch. Bare walls and emptiness greeted the female apparition. She slumped to the floor, leg finally giving out. With a loud grunt she tied up the rest of her black hair, taking note that it is time for a haircut. Tearing part of her pant leg off, Rei observed the damage done to her leg.

"Too much blood…"she muttered, using her hands to climb up the wall to grab a wash cloth. As she walked to the bathroom images of the human girl came to her mind; bloodied, bruised, and unconscious. Various apparitions stalked through the forest, looking for a new prey. She tried to get herself to focus on her leg but the girl's wide innocent eyes reminded her so much of Ichigo…

Wrapping up a quick make-shift bandage the dark haired girl made her way back in to the forest trying to pin point where the girl's scent disappeared. Luckily for her and her leg, it wasn't far enough from Genkai's compound.

Rei stopped for a moment and stared at the human. There she laid, blonde hair sprawled around her like a halo, in a small depression in the grass.

X.X.X.X

Leaving the girl with Genkai, Rei sat on the floor of her room yet again. After a long detailed explanation to Genkai, many fumbles up the stairs, eight nail like darts embedded in leg, 4 in the morning; she could finally fix her leg. If she had enough intelligence she would have let Genkai wake Yukina up, but Rei had a pride that took precedence over intellect many times.

"This is what I get for helping humans…"She mumbled, trying to pry the darts out of her leg. Self-healing was never a strong suit for the Silent Assassin.

"He sent you to follow me." She stated softly, not even looking up from her wounds.

The window opened as a blacked cloaked figure came in, positioning himself near a wall.

"I'm not stupid," she continued, hissing as she dug out the first of eight darts. "Although, I give him credit for sending you …"

"Hn" Red eyes watched the female struggle, taking note of every move, twitch, and groan.

A silence filled the two as he watched her tug out another two from her calf. His eyes followed her hand's movements, trying to uncover the female's true motives for being here. He knew her story wasn't the truth. His Jagan eye may not penetrate her mind, but he's no idiot either. "I've noticed you have a tendency of saving strays, Kuroda."

A deep sigh left the girl's lips but no response was heard. Rei was tired, pained, and on the brink of passing out. The last walk carrying that human, not only opened up the wounds on her legs, but truly showed how exhausted and out of shape she was.

"Never pegged you for the type to like humans," he baited, narrowed eyes watching her every expression.

"Don't kid yourself," she barked. "I did it so you wouldn't report back to Koenma."

"Liar"

She finally looked up from her leg, amber eyes dancing with amusement. "Wouldn't you like to know."

A deep growl left the fire demon's lips, but nothing came out. No remark, no threat, nothing. The lack of response threw not only Rei but Hiei off guard as well. He furrowed his eyebrows, perplexed at his own kindness to the shadow demon.

"You should try masking your energy better," She spoke, not hint of malice or mockery in her voice.

She looked up but came face to face with crimson eyes less than a foot away from her. "What are - "

"You're doing it wrong" He muttered, smacking her hands away from her leg.

Using the miniscule strength she had left, pale hands moved up to try and gain control but yet again got smacked away, forcefully. "I'm not a child" She grumbled

"Shut up onna" He grunted, ripping the rest of her pant leg off. "I'd rather you have two working legs when I beat you." With complete ease his hands pulled out the fourth dart, sending a wave of warmth up her body. "I get no amusement in killing cripples."

A light blush tinted her cheeks as his hands worked on pulling the rest of the darts out. Moving up from his hands, Rei watched the crimson eyed fire demon. It took all the ounce of power she had not to move the few loose strands of black hair sitting at his forehead. _It's the blood loss…_

The silence of the room alerted Hiei of the demon slumped next to him. He looked up from the wounds, seeing the amber-eyed demon's head slumped and eyes closed. "Pathetic" he mumbled, reaching for the bandages on the floor.

He wanted to know, no, **needed** to know what this female was hiding. The story she fed during her sentencing may have convinced the detectives, but he knew better. She was hiding a little more than just a few minor details and he was going to find out.

**A/N: I know the ending seems a bit rushed and crappy but I finally got back into the swing of writing! I can't promise frequent updates considering this took me over a week to shit out and edit, but definitely won't be over a year! **

**Cheiko was introduced for a reason which will be worked through out the story however as of right now I mainly did it to show the different side of Rei. **

**I'm going to start opening into what went on back in demon world and what not.**

**I know when she was telling her story she said Aoi had no sons, yadda yadda, but there's a reason for all of it. Promise!**

**Thank you for everybody who stuck with me and this story and thank you for anybody new reading this, so I hope you enjoyed it, I apologize for my writing, it's been a while, but don't worry I'm on a roll :) **


	11. Eleven

**A/N:** **It's been forever, I know, but here it is and this is the last filler kind of chapter. As of the next chapter this is where all my ideas come into play. I know it's been a while and 11 chapters in and not much has happened but don't worry, it's coming! **

"Don't start relaxing now, girl!" a raspy voice yelled from the seated figure on the other end of the wooden room.

A pale girl stood in the center, fixing her erratic breathing. Black hair pulled up all the way, yellow eyes narrowed at the gray haired woman smirking in the corner. Noting the look of pure confusion, the smirk widened into a smile.

Rei's body straightened as she wiped the remaining beads of sweat running down her forehead. "…Training ends at sundown…" she stated wearily, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable under the psychic's unreadable stare.

A loud, raspy laugh echoed throughout the empty room, making the demon even tenser than before. Genkai's body shook from laughter, wrinkled hands grasping at her stomach. Eyes narrowed and body tense, the shadow apparition cocked her head to the side, feeling as though she had missed out on some hilarious joke.

After a few more moments of laughter, the older woman stopped, smile fading into a straight line. "Oh, you were serious…" She stated monotonously, once again seeming like she was bored with the situation. "Did you forget the girl from last week?"

Genkai watched the demon's face relax and her mouth slightly drop. Head cocked to the right and one eyebrow raised, Rei's face mirrored a blank wall. Feeling a vein pop up on her temple, the psychic's face dropped completely. Even with the scar down the side, the shadow apparition looked like a confused mutt, trying to remember which way is home. "The blonde…" the old woman mumbled, but the demon was too far into her thoughts to take note of the hint.

"Girl…" Rei mumbled, brows knitted and face focused. "The blonde…?" She announced, pounding her hand into her palm in success, completely disregarding the psychic's previous words. "…oh…the blonde…" she repeated, voice now low and disgruntled.

"Yes the blonde!" Genkai snapped, rolling her eyes in frustration. "Your memory is worse than my poor excuse of a successor."

"Offense taken…" Rei mumbled, now thoroughly confused.

"Oh good and here I thought you'd take that as a compliment," the older woman retorted, shaking her head. "What, you thought you'd bring home a stray and not have to take care of it?"

"You're joking!"

"Lower your voice, girl!" She barked, a smirk resurfacing on her wrinkled face. "You introduced the girl into this world, now you train her." Genkai brought her body up from her previous cross-legged position.

Rei's eyes flared up with rage. First the probation, then the spirit cuffs, and now they're dumping a teenage human on her too. "It was not my choice!" She yelled, body tense and temper flaring. "I'll even offer amnesia!" Emotions were never an issue for her, but as of lately she could not help but to explode. _It's the humans…_ she thought, for once grateful for the cuffs that bound her power.

"Genkai!" She pleaded to the woman whose back was now turned and headed towards the sliding door.

Genkai stood still, letting the demon get everything out. "You are the master!" She continued, face red and fists clenched. "I saved her life, since that is my so-called job, but I am not looking after this human!"

Silence filled the room and Rei's head dropped, eyes glued to the ground. "What good am I to her?" she muttered, "I am unfit to care for another being, we are all aware of that. I am a demon, she will not survive my training."

The pale female received no answer and a tense silence washed over the two. Sounds of Yusuke and Kuwabara bickering were heard from the outside.

Genkai's raspy voice finally broke Rei's staring contest with the floor boards. "I do not deal with the unskilled." She started, making the other girl look up. "If you want to pass your probation, train her. That is all that is asked of you." An unreadable expression flashed through the older woman's face. "You are not her guardian or her protector. If she cannot fend for herself, she is unfit. If her body can't withstand the training, that is her fault. It will not be held over your head. I assure you that."

Reaching for the door, Genkai released an exhausted sigh. "She is at the clearing and will be there every day at sundown. Now go play fetch." She chuckled, exiting the room.

Rei stood in the center, frozen as a stampede of emotions and thoughts trampled through her head. She was frustrated at their constant attempts to make her socialize, at their constant belief that she was a better person than what she made herself out to be, and most of all, their constant pushing for her to open up. For a whole month she managed to avoid eating with them and any form of socialization past training. She was here for one reason and one reason only. If any of them got in her way, she would cut them down in a heartbeat. She threw her head back, a loud yell of frustration erupting from her body. She didn't need friends, she didn't need this, but in the back of her head, a voice kept screaming she did.

Pale hands shot forward, dislodging a chunk of her hair from the ponytail to cover the scarred portion of her face. Stomping towards the door, she ripped it open and continued to stomp towards the clearing, like a spoiled child. Clouded by frustration and lack of attentiveness, the demon's body collided straight into a hard mass which caused her to land on the floor followed by a very unladylike 'Fuck'.

A loud, heartfelt laugh brought Rei back from her haze as she made eye contact with warm, chestnut colored eyes.

"What's the rush little lady?" Yusuke chuckled, extending his hand forward to her.

Shoving his hand to the side, the former assassin rose up and dusted herself off from the dirt. With nothing but a grunt in response she made her way toward the clearing.

"Someone looks upset!" He yelled after her, changing his course of direction completely. "What's with the hostility, Rei?" The lack of response only egged the detective to continue and increased the demon's agitation. "Is it the old hag? Don't let her get to you! The training gets easier, honest!" He smiled, ruffling the shorter girl's hair.

The contact caused her body to stiffen and legs stop moving. "I just don't understand…" She started, taking a deep sigh. "Why do you all insist on bothering me?" Yusuke stopped walking and turned to face the frustrated girl. Rei's eyes remained on the black haired boy's face but the blank stare enforced that her mind was elsewhere.

"Rei, come do this! Rei, look at that! Rei, Rei, Rei!" She mimicked, throwing her arms up. Her legs began to move on their own accord, pacing back in forth in front of the now confused boy. "Why can't you all just leave me the hell alone! You call me Rei, even though I see no reason why when I said not to, you try to make me do all this petty human bullshit when I don't want it! WHY!" She yelled out, suddenly exploding. Face red, fists clenched, and breathing erratic, the ticking time bomb has finally exploded.

The rampage caught the detective off guard, wiping the smile completely off his face. Yusuke's hand shot forward, grabbing Rei's wrist and pausing her pacing. He felt her body stiffen at the contact again as her jaw clenched. His eyes searched her face, but could not read a single emotion. The previous anger and rage dissipated the moment his hand made contact with her flesh. Her blank, cold stare was focused on where his hand was holding her.

"Let go of me." She muttered lightly, barely audible but with enough aggression to signal he was crossing into dangerous territory.

"Look at me," Yusuke spoke but no avail. " Rei…"

Without a second's hesitation, Rei's face shot up. The setting sun cast a demonic shadow over the girl's face. Warm, spring wind blew the hair off her face, as two glowing eyes finally looked up to meet brown ones. "You have 3 seconds to let go of me Urameshi, do not think I am playing."

A small chuckle left his mouth and he retracted his hand from her wrist. "You have been with us for over a month now…" Yusuke started, watching the form in front of him with caution. "You may not want to eat with us, go out, or even relax, but we don't see you as a threat." A light smile grazed his features, "You're not fooling anyone with that tough guy act. We got through to Hiei and we'll get through you. To us, you're not Ruki or whatever the hell else you went by. You are Rei, our temperamental, sometimes scary teammate and friend."

Unwillingly, Rei felt her face relax and mind go blank. The lack of response gave the detective more incentive to continue. "We just want you to trust us, like we trust you."

The black haired demon's head cocked to the side in confusion. "I'm not the smartest," Yusuke chuckled, "But I'd like to say I've got a pretty damn good judge of character and you're not evil."

"Tch, you really don't know how to use your head, do you?" she teased without a smile, still grasping the words that left the boy's mouth.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he shrugged, "Never been a fan!"

"You're touching me again…Yusuke."

Upon hearing his name, a loud roar of laughter left his mouth as Yusuke moved both arms behind his head and followed the now distraught shadow apparition.

"So what's got you so angry before?" he blurted, staring up at the darkening sky changing the course of the conversation.

Rei walked next to him, eyes glazed and mind reeling. They trust her…The honestly believed she wouldn't betray them when she herself wasn't even sure. How stupid were they to put their own lives at stake for somebody with a track record like hers all because of some gut feeling. _Pathetic…_ she thought, keeping her eyes on the grass and hands deep in her pockets. A slight warmth spread through her body at the thought of being trusted. The thought of people seeing her as more than just a ruler, a monster, a killer, brought up feelings that haven't been touched in ages. Quickly blaming the warmth as a sign of indigestion, Rei looked up from the grass and to the darkening sky.

"Genkai has me training the human" she mumbled.

A chuckle came from the left side of her. "Cheiko, you mean?"

"Whatever"

"So what's so bad about that?" he started, looking away from the sky and at the black haired girl next to him. He stared for a moment as her eyes stayed fixated up ahead. Yusuke couldn't grasp at how someone so small could be capable of so much destruction. His confusion was then alleviated upon remembrance of the equally small fire demon. _Must be a height complex_ he thought, chuckling to himself. "I mean, I'd love to have someone to bitch around! Run errands, do chores!"

"Train…" Rei emphasized, voice bored.

"Same difference!" He snorted, smiling ear to ear that the demon was finally talking more than 3 words to him. "What's the big deal anyways?"

A low sigh left Rei's lips. "I don't like the idea of being held accountable for someone else's life."

"Look, Rei…" Yusuke's hands dropped and managed to catch her eye. Feeling completely aware of herself, she lowered her head back to the ground. In a single moment she knew exactly how the detective made so many opponents his allies. Rei was no fool, she knew of the detective and his team way before they were even made aware of her existence. Each and every one of them had her complete and utter respect; however, Yusuke Urameshi was an anomaly in her eyes. He possessed an unimaginable power and saw so much filth from all beings over the years; humans and demons alike. Yet here he is now, resting his trust in her. Was he really as dim-witted as the older psychic said, that he could just blindly thrust his faith in her or was there really more?

"That is what trust is…" he continued, as if reading her mind. "Like it or not girlie, you're stuck with us now. Which I think you secretly enjoy…" The look of disgust that was shot in his direction only seemed to back his not so profound theory up. "Instead of wasting so much energy avoiding us, try putting that into your training, maybe you'll even be able to beat me!" He laughed, nudging the girl next to him.

Unwillingly a faint, ghost of smile pulled at her lips. "You're all bark and no bite, detective." She spoke, trying to stay as monotonous as possible. There was something about him, the hope, the laughter, maybe even the obliviousness, that made the demon feel more…human.

The two approached the hill before the clearing and simultaneously stopped their movement. "Honestly though," Yusuke started, all humor gone from his voice. "Cheiko wanted you to train her. No one else, but you. Clearly she has no qualms in leaving her life in your hands, the old hag doesn't, and neither do I." He paused and squatted down to match the shorter demon's height. Brown eyes searched yellow ones. A few moments of silence passed as discomfort spread across the smaller girl's body. She was not used to being under this much scrutiny and direct contact with other beings as it is, let alone without her mask and armor. After a few more moments, Yusuke took a deep breath, as if getting ready for some profound words of wisdom. "Seriously, think a little less. Makes life so much easier!" He chuckled, tapping the girl's skull for a moment before extending back to his usual height.

The last statement nearly made Rei fall over. Shaking her head, she released a sigh. "Only you, detective, only you…"

The last rays of the sun descended, encasing the field in total darkness. "SHIT!" she heard him yell, as Yusuke's hands flew up and brushed through his slicked back hair. "Keiko!...Shit!" were the only coherent words from his mouth.

Before starting off in his initial direction, the hanyou turned back to shoot one last smile at the girl. "Stop giving yourself such a hard time, squirt!"

Rei's eye twitched at the nickname, making Yusuke's grin spread even more. "Just give us a shot; I'd say we're a damn lovable bunch!" The girl's eyebrow arched, but he continued yelling as he jogged towards where they came from. "I know the girls have been dying to get to know you, so don't be such a stranger, you're stuck with us whether you like it or not."

She watched Yusuke run off to meet his now angered girlfriend. For the most part, he made sense and as much as a part of her yearned for the contact, after so many years of distrust and solitude, the rest of her knew this was too good to be true. Any ties meant more collateral in the end. Shaking the thoughts away, she made way towards a thin figure in the center of clearing, now fully aware of how late she was.

Cheiko stood back facing the now approaching Rei, leg awkwardly tilted to the side and body leaning towards it. _Is she trying to stretch…?_ she thought, eyebrows knit and thoroughly confused.

The closer she got, the more she attempted to contain her amusement at the flustered human girl, who from the looks of it, has never done anything physical her entire life. Clad in blue shorts, white knee high socks, white tank top coupled with elbow, shin, and knees pads topped off with a pale bow tie holding her curly blonde hair in a ponytail.

Shaking her head, the demon stopped a couple of feet from the blonde, arms crossed and eyebrow raised, patiently waiting for her to detect a new presence. For a few minutes Rei stood still as the girl grunted and sighed, attempting to stretch out her limbs. _Is she for real?_ She thought, oddly impressed at Cheiko's lack of awareness.

As the blonde raised her leg and wobbled, counting down from ten, Rei's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you doing…" she asked slowly, causing the girl to screech and nearly topple over.

Awkwardly gaining back her composure, Cheiko's face lit up at the sight of the black haired girl. "Rei!" She exclaimed, jogging over with her arms outstretched. "I'm so—"

Alarmed at the movement, Rei caught her wrist, throwing the girl's almost weightless body down to the ground. In less than a second, Cheiko's arm was twisted behind her back and face shoved in the dirt.

"Never touch me." She whispered harshly in to the blonde's ear, getting off the petrified girl's back.

Rei stepped back and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Lilac eyes met hers, but found no remorse. Lips pursed and eyes glazed, she slowly pushed herself off the floor and began to rub at her aching face. Still shaking from shock and terror, she rose from the ground and took a quick peak at the shorter female in front of her. Her eye glowed in the darkness, reminding Cheiko of the night she ripped the purple skinned _demon's_ throat apart. _Demon, spirit energy, different worlds_… Cheiko, still, could not grasp the full concept of those words. _What is she?_ She thought, looking at the displeased female in front of her. _Is she human?_

"Wipe that disgusting and pitiful look off your face." Rei spat, breaking the blonde from her thoughts.

She kept her distance and stared at the girl shaking like a mutt in the cold rain. "You asked me to train you? Here I am. I don't play games," she warned, taking slow steps towards the taller female.

Stopping a foot away, despite being over half a foot taller, Cheiko never felt so small in her entire life. Rei's eyes bore holes through her skull and she tried to maintain minimal eye contact. Her voice was caught in her throat as tears threatened to fall at any given moment. Disheveled, dirt stained clothing, not reaching five feet, one eye covered, and even in complete darkness, this girl looked more threatening than people three times her size. _Was this a mistake?_

While Cheiko's head hung low and body reeked of terror, Rei eyed her from every angle. "First of all, you will look at me when I speak to you." She barked, causing the human girl to jump up. Slowly, she raised her head, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

"Next, get over that whiny act of yours. If you can't handle this, today will be your only chance to back out; but I do not respond well to tears, understand?" This earned her a pathetic nod. "About what happened before, that was your first lesson. You are to be alert and aware at all times. I don't care what the result is, I don't care if you fail, but I need to see you trying. You need to want this because I don't appreciate my time being wasted." The black haired demon paused for a moment, making sure to lock eyes with the terrified female in front of her.

The blonde's face reddened as a sudden burst of guts and defiance reared past the terror. "YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST SAID SOMETHING, ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS HUG-"

"No excuses and don't touch me." The iciness and venom in the statement replaced all the confidence and boldness with fear once again. "You chose me… that was your own mistake."

Rei's expression tensed as the younger girl's eyes glistened in the faint moonlight. Closing in on the space between them, the demon's face softened as she brought Cheiko's chin down to eye level. Her voice was lower and a bit softer than before, "If you are going to act like a child, back out and make my life easier. I don't think you can handle my training, mentally or physically. If you want to stay, that is on you, by all means prove me wrong. But if you have any doubt at all, leave right now." She let go of the blonde's chin and backed up, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

The wind picked up for a moment causing the grass and leaves to be the only sound heard in the clearing. Rei kept her eyes glued on the girl, waiting for her decision. Finally, her unwavering stare was met with eyes full of determination and resolve. "I'm staying."

A small smirk, not visible to the blonde in the darkness, grazed the demon's features. She then continued to spend ten minutes questioning Cheiko's choice of attire from the different sets of knee pads down to the oversized bow on her head.

"Tomorrow, I want you here at sundown. I will run you to the ground with drills until your body can't move."

"How you go about your daily activities afterwards is of no concern to me. Furthermore, after tomorrow, you will have a set of drills until I see you fit to advance. If I am late, you start the drills at sundown whether I am here or not…" Even in the darkness, the sinister gleam in her eyes sent shivers down Cheiko's spine. "…because I will know if you don't."

The black haired apparition stood still for a moment, thinking, until she finally decided on her course of action. Turning away from her 'pupil', she began walking to the compound. "You're free for today; we start tomorrow…now head home or you might get eaten."

"Rei…?" A soft voice called out, not moving an inch. "What are you, exactly?"

Shaking her head, the demon kept walking. The cool night air brought in a wave of comfort, calming her nerves for a moment. _This should be interesting_, she thought, trying to remember all the different training methods she had to use on new soldiers. However, the more she thought, the more she needed to lighten the techniques. At the end of the day, an unskilled demon is still more durable than a human.

In the shadows created by the leaves, a black figure silently watched as the dark haired shadow apparition made her way leisurely through the forest. Silently moving from tree top to tree top he eyes her every move, down to the very breaths slowly leaving her mouth. Her movement was slow and languid, hands buried deep in the baggy dirt covered training pants that seemed much too large for her small frame. He watched and she walked, with no real destination in mind. Her path not leading towards the compound, but deeper and deeper into the darkened forest.

At one point she stopped at a small cleared section of the forest positioned directly under the moon. For a month he has been watching her, waiting for her to slip up, to do anything at all to confirm his suspicions, but no avail. Someone with a killing streak like that cannot possibly be innocent… "You can come out now…" He heard. His eyes shot down to the girl at the bottom.

A golden eye met his as she slowly sat down on the ground, legs crossed and arms set behind her. "I know you've been following me." She stated calmly. He did not move and continued to stare, eyes narrowed and body tense.

Putting aside the crimson orbs watching her for the past month, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes letting the night air engulf her body. For a month her powers have been locked away, clawing at her core, begging to be released. She would never admit it, but killing the demon that attacked the girl was the best feeling she's had since her probation. The look of terror as her prey realize it is the end, the smell of fear and adrenaline mixed with the metallic scent of blood…Rei's eye shot open and she shook her head. _Not this again…_

"Just because the detective trusts you doesn't mean I do," a deep monotonous voice spoke, bringing her back to reality. A light thump was heard as a black figure emerged from the tree.

A light groan left the female's lips as she sat unmoving from her spot. "Didn't I tell you before, if you're going to follow me around at least do it in a way where I can't sense you?"

She received no response from the fire demon leaning against the tree. Looking up, the small section of the moon untouched by the clouds filtered out directly on to the dark body in front of her, illuminating the crimson eyes glowing from the shadows. Unable to tear her gaze from his a silence washed over two demons, neither willing to waver. She could not understand the way she felt around him; there was wariness, tension, annoyance, blood lust, anger but a small part of her always feels a bit too comfortable for her own good. He was too similar to her and it angered her more than anything else.

Finally she took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that all you have to tell me?"

In mere seconds Hiei was hovering over her, eyes narrowed and body on guard. He could tell she was exhausted, barely even awake but she was hiding something and it's been eating at him for weeks. "Unlike the detective, I do not joke." He growled, meeting those blank yellow eyes again.

The smell of firewood over took any other scents in the vicinity. Rei took another breath and slowly let it out as her upper body dropped to the grass. "At least you have some intelligence to sense a traitor." She muttered, losing whatever energy she had left.

A deep growl resonated from the fire demon's throat. "Are you mocking me"

"On the contrary," she spoke, "I am not." Her words were low and jumbled under her breath. She could not remember the last time she slept and her body was finally out of fuel. With no energy to argue with the dark haired apparition, she lazily looked up at his stoic face. "Kill me now, tell them I attacked you…I don't know…" she rambled, have the words getting lost under her breath. "If I'm such a threat to you, take your chance now. Just stop saying the same things over and over…" a low yawn left her lips. "You give me such a head…" another louder yawn left her lips and the rest seemed like mumbles to the perplexed demon hovering over her.

Hiei stood still and watched as her mumbles got lower and lower until they were replaced with a slow, deepened breathing. Small, pale, and sprawled out on the grass like an exhausted child…She was right, he could kill her now and end it, but he couldn't. He blamed it on his ethics and their rematch. She is untrustworthy and that is final.

Black, messy hair engulfed the pale, scarred up body. Though the shirt was large, faint scars ran up her arms into the sleeve of the shirt while faded marks poked out from the collar. Hiei's hand twitched for a moment towards the hilt of his sword but stopped. Of everyone here, he watched her the most, waiting to see a slip up or anything at all. But like he watched her, she was careful as well, down to the very breaths she took. But here she was now in her most vulnerable state in front of the one person that has no qualms about ending her life.

Letting out a grunt of frustration, Hiei dropped her cloak over her and disappeared into the trees. That is the most he would do for her.

Unbeknownst to the two, another figure watched in the darkness, calculating, waiting until it was time. "Tick tock" it muttered, blending in to the hisses of the wind.


End file.
